


Harry Potter and the ( kind of) Cinderella story

by The_Ol_Razzle_Dazzle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cinderella Elements, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Harry suffers a bit, Humor, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Parselmouth Harry Potter, Parseltongue, Prince Tom, Romance, Slow Burn, Tom still hates everyone, fairytale ending?, talking snakes, the other ships are side, this is basically Cinderella
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13432038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ol_Razzle_Dazzle/pseuds/The_Ol_Razzle_Dazzle
Summary: "This morning in Privet Manor begun just like every other.Quick, loud footsteps could be heard running up the stairs of an extravagant looking manor. A rather rude noise to be making so early in the morning. A loud thud was heard from the other side of a small door , the noise making the entire attic shake and a raven haired boy to jump up in his bed , violently woken up. "Harry Potter didn't want to miss his chances of going to the ball and enjoying his short lived freedom. Even if that meant breaking a few of his family rules , solving riddles and conversing with snakes.And all that while putting up with a pompous ass that keeps bumping into him.





	1. The boy in the attic and the bratty Prince

This morning in Privet Manor begun just like every other.

  
Quick, loud footsteps could be heard running up the stairs of an extravagant looking manor. A rather rude noise to be making so early in the morning. A loud thud was heard from the other side of a small door , the noise making the entire attic shake and a raven haired boy to jump up in his bed , violently woken up.  
  
" Get up boy! It’s already seven .We need to have the manor sparkling before our guest arrives ."  
  
The loud roar from the other end of the door became distant  little by little as the woman screaming it was walking down the stairs as she spoke.  
  
" Yes ma’am " said the boy and rubbed his tired eyes , not really answering to anyone.  
  
Harry was so used to this routine by now that even his answers to his relatives demands have become automatic by now. He would answer even if no one was listening to him.  
  
No one was ever listening to him anyways.

Harry had been living  with the Dursleys since he could remember. They always treated  him like a servant even though they were his only living blood relatives . Harry was basically non existant to most people in his town as the Dursleys never spoke about him, and Harry wasn’t allowed to go out alone to have fun or socialize like any other normal human.

You see, Harry has been unfortunate enough that after his parents tragic deaths he would end up in a household full of people who dispised him. Even though Harry had no idea why, his family seemed to think he was the worst thing that ever happened to them. He guessed it was because of how different he was from them. How ‘ abnormal’ he looked and acted compared to them. Harry was the exact opposite of his cousin Dudley, which his aunt and uncle loved so much that it kind of made sense that they would hate Harry.

Dudley had light blond hair that barely reached his ears. Harry had thick black hair that were always too long and messy for his aunt’s likings. Dudley had light blue eyes while Harry had deep green ones. Dudley had light rosy skin while Harry had a darker, sun-kissed skin that was usually covered in bruises from chores or from when Dudley and his friends simply needed a punching bag. Harry was also more on the skinny side , thanks to the neglect of a proper diet by his family for years,while on the other hand Dudley looked like a proper copy of his rather large father with the difference that Dudley had more muscle than fat.

Last but not least, Harry had a noticable scar  alongside his forehead that had the shape of a lighting and it’s color was a tad lighter than his normal skin tone.That seemed to be one of the characteristics his family hated the most about him but Harry decided to not mind the scar and simply accept it as a part of him.  
  
He quikly got up to his feet and started to get ready , he put on his round  black glasses (which somehow ended up being always broken) and didn’t even bother to fix his unruly hair that was sticking out from everywhere .

He would spent all his day cleaning the manor and the garden so his appearance didn’t really matter. He would just have  to endure the dissaproving glares from his  relatives . Which  they would shoot at him either way even if his hair were slicked back like a ‘normal’ person’s would.

Harry started walking down the stairs, heading to the dining hall where the Dursley family should already be gathered , waiting for their  breakfast to be served. He thankfully had already prepared the things from the previous night , so he only needed to brew them tea and coffee. Harry liked being a bit ahead on his work cause he knew he would be given much more than he could handle a day. Lost in his thoughts  he found himself in front of the giant white door of the dining hall.

_Lets hope they are in a good mood today .._

Harry knocked on the door lightly.

" Get in." The stern voice of his uncle said and Harry walked in the room with a fake smile on his face to greet them.

As he suspected the entire Dursley family was already sitten at the large table of the dining hall. The hall was an average sized room with a table too big for the place and a big golden mirror matching the length of the table along with a painting of a mountain scenery,  it’s frame also gold. Extravagant and ugly. Just like every room in the house.

 The table was dressed in white tablecloth with brown details and a white – brown set of plates and silverware to match. In the middle of it was a large vase which accomodated a boquet of white dianthus that Harry had made yesterday. Seeing that it was still on the table made Harry sigh in relief , afraid that it would be disliked and thrown away by his aunt as the previous ones.

 "Good morning" Harry adressed to the family and bowed slightly. He hated doing that but had learned the hard way that being polite meant less chores.

"You better not sleep in again! It is not my job to come wake you up ." Screeched his aunt instead of a response to his greeding.

_It's not my job to make you breakfast every morning either but here we are._

"I'm sorry ma’am it won’t happen again." Harry said and bowed his head again.

"I shall go bring your breakfast."  

With that he turned around and got out of the room to head to the kitchen ignoring the angry mumbling of his aunt and the loud mocking sound from his cousin at his mother’s curses towards Harry.

Thankfully the kitchen was pretty close to the dining hall so his trip from one room to another didnt drag for long . At least they couldn’t complain that their tea was cold. Of course that didn’t stop them from complaining about a hundred other things but still.

The kitchen was  a relatively small wooden room , dared he say the smallest room in the house after the three bathrooms and the attic that Harry lived in. It wasn’t a problem for him though , having a slim build made it easy to move in small areas such as this room.

Harry actyally liked the kitchen. It was always warm in the winter and no one else but him came down there, making it somehow his own territory. Harry had very little possesions that were truly his so even this small place made him feel grateful. As he was making his way through the kitchen he heard a light hissing noise coming from the small window above the stove. The window looked at the back garden of the house which waa filled with flowers and bushes that Harry had to attend to daily.

He walked closer to the window with a bit of hesitance , if it was a cat he’d have to make sure it didn’t get in since aunt Petunia was allergic to anything with too much hair ( Harry included).

It wasn’t a cat. It wasn’t even close to a cat. No fur.

A little green snake was sprawled across the wooden window looking pleadingly at Harry to let it in. It let out another low hissing sound and made a move with it’s head pointing the inside of the kitchen before turning again to Harry.

Harry was standing dumpfounded , looking at the movements of the snake , a smile slowly forming on his face. He gave a quick glance at the stairs leading upstairs before opening slowly the window.

 ** _"Come in now but please dont go running around the house."_** he hissed and motioned to the snake to come in before closing the window again.

The snake slithered inside and curled around itself protectively, taking in the warmth of the house and the new environmemt it found itself into.It lifted it’s little head up and looked at Harry.

 ** _" Not many speak the language of the snakes. You are the first hunan I meet who can. "_**   the snake had now lifted it’s head higher examing the boy in front of it.

 ** _"It’s a thing I always could do..."_** Harry replied , slightly shrugging **_"I don’t think anyone else around here does though."_**

Of course Harry knew far too well that no one else but him could.When he mentioned his ability to talk and understand snakes at the age of 6 to his aunt , Petunia had looked at him like he had just grown horns at the sides of his head. He soon realized it was an ability that wasn’t normal to have , and after getting beat up a couple of times learned not to use it around other people. Especially his family’s important ‘friends’.

The snake nodded slighty and kept staring at him.

The piercing stare of the snake was making him slightly uncomfortable. He was considering that maybe opening the window wasn’t the wisest choice , but Harry was never considered wise to begin with.

**_"Thanks it was really cold out.You are kind for a human."_ **

That was..surprisingly polite. Most snakes Harry spoke with either run away , fearing the human that could understand them or got bored of him pretty easily and run away again after he fed them. Maybe this one would be a keeper.

**_"No problem ,are you hungry ? I coul-"_ **

"BOY HURRY UP"

His uncle’s shout cut Harry’s sentense in half and made him slighty jump from surprise. He had almost forgoten all about breakfast and the hungry Dursleys. The little snake jolted too , taken back by the loud noice.

"Crap..I’m going to be yelled at again." Harry said , mostly to himself since the snake couldn’t understand him  and grabbed the tray with the breakfast , carefully eyeing everything to make sure it was okay.

Satisfied with what he saw he went to turn around but stopped at his tracks and looked back at the little snake.

 ** _"Make yourself at home while I’m gone. I’ll come back to feed you."_** And with that he was out of the kitchen heading to the dining hall.

_Please don’t be too mad, please don’t be too mad._

With that as a last thought he knocked softly on the door and got in.

"You are late, maybe you really want me to give you extra work today." Aunt Petunia said the moment he walked in with the tray. She stared at him with an expression that always made Harry think someone just made her eat an extra sour lemon.

" I apologize." He said not really showing any signs of remorse. He really hadn’t been that late and his relatives could easily afford more capable maids than him anyways. So really they had no reason to complain about his tardiness.

"Just serve the food already you freak." His cousin shouted from the othe end of the table. He had already managed to break a small plate , it’s fragments all over the carpet of the dining hall, giving Harry already extra work to do.

Harry didn’t need to be told twice and served breakfast like every morning before tending to the broken plate on the floor.

When serving Harry always had a line.First uncle Vernon , next Dudley and last aunt Petunia who ate way less than the two men in her house.

Of course Harry didn’t have a place in the dining hall since he always ate in the kitchen whatever leftovers they had. He decided he would eat later while also feeding his new snake friend.

Aftet serving his aunt last , Harry went and stood close to the door ready to leave when they dismiss him. His aunt let out a scoff and turned her attention from her plate to her husband who had been too focused reading his newspaper to even glare at Harry. Which was good since Harry hated uncle’s Vernon angry face more than anything.

" Vernon when did you say  Umbridge was going to be here?"

Okay he takes it back. If he hated anything more than his uncle’s mad face it was that stupid upper class frog witch. Harry was pretty much convinced that this woman had been created just to make his already miserable life more miserable. Also he was 100% convinced she had cursed him multiple times.

Umbridge had been close friend’s with the Dursleys ever since she moved from the heart of the Kingdom of Howgarts to the outskirts of the Kingdom almost 5 years ago , when Harry was 12.  Before the move she was one of the honorable judges in  Lord’s Tomas Riddle Sr. own court. She said she moved  because she wanted to be closer to the Gryffindor district but Harry was pretty sure the Lord got really annoyed with her and ordered her to move.

Still even after her departure from the King’s court she had money, high positions and knew many upper class wealthy families which made her a perfect candidate of friendship to the Dursleys.

" Around noon." was the short reply by Vernon who took a sip out his coffee and went back to reading his newspaper.

Harry felt a groan tickling up his throat because he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

His aunt had turned her attention back to him , a stern tone in her voice as she spoke. "You heard him. I want every room in this manor to be sparkling by the time our lovely guest is here.I want you to scrub every inch of the foyer , the living room and the dining hall."

Harry silently noted that Dudleys room could never look sparkling no matter how hard he tried since the boy was going to make even more of a mess in it once it was clean.

" We need to impress Ms. Umbridge after the disasterous last time." She sneered and gave Harry a dirty look.

He hadn’t meant to set that snake at her last time, it just liked pink stuff and she happened to be covered with it. Harry did miss Gabriela , by far the best snake he had the pleasure to accomodate.

"Have I made myself clear boy?"

"Yes."

Three sets of eyes were set on him , anger boiling just underneath. But Harry knew how to make a quick recovery.

" Yes ma’am."

This day was bound to be a long one.

 

                                                                                                                      ********

" This is ridiculous!" 

A loud crashing noise followed the shout that had been heard from the King’s conference room in the west wing of the castle.

" A seven day masquarade ball to celebrate my birthday?What a joke. I despise balls. And furthermore I despise you , deciding my future for me."

Prince Tom was now standing , his chair thrown to the floor , facing at the other end of the table  his father who had spent most of this meeting sighing and massaging his temples in agony.

" There is absolutely no reason for me to get married father. I am perfectly capable of finding a mate of my choice when I actually wish to do so." the prince exclaimed and threw his father another harsh glare.

The King shook and lifted  his head and glanced back at his son, his stare too tired and distamt to hold any actual hostility. He was getting too old to stand his son’s tantrums.

" And when do you plan on doing that?" He already knew the answer.

"Not as soon as you want me too, apparently." The tall boy sneered and and run his hand through his thick chestnut colored locks before crossing his arms in front of his toned chest.

Tom had decided to walk around the room ignoring the scared glances he was getting from the Royal councelors. A bunch of old coots if you asked him , getting frightend of a mere violent action showed a weak heart and will. Neithet of which belonged to the ruling of a kingdom. He was going to change that once he was in charge but for now-

_I have to find a way to stop this marriege nonsense from happening._

" Tom , my boy." the clear voice of Albus Dumbledore stopped his train of thought. A frown was quickly curved in his beautiful face. He couldn’t stand the old man , since he had first applied for the Royal council Tom knew he was nothing more than a mad man with a bit too much power in his hands.

_An intelligent manipulator ._

An idea that the rest of the Kingdom didn’t share with Tom. They all placed Dumbledore in a high pendastal after he defeated Lord Grindelwald in the 1st war of the Kingdom with the Dark forces.

Won with mere luck if you ask him. Grindelwald was an extemely powerfull tyrant. Had it not been for his feelings and past friendship that he shared with Dumbledore, he wouldn't have been defeated.

" I believe that the King expects from you to show cooporetion. I am sure , you most of all people understand you need someone by your side to truly rule a kingdom and the benefits that it provides. You are smart enough to understand that Tom"  a knowing smile forming on the old man’s face. " Also who doesn’t enjoy a party? You never know who or what you are going to meet."

Tom felt like throwing the chair that was laying on the floor , straight to Dumbledore’s face. His patronizing tone made the prince despise him even more. He was aware of the benefits of marriege, but he also knew the disadvantages of it. Love made people lose themsleves and Tom wanted none of that. Trusting people besides himself was already hard enough, not that it was his fault. Judging from how useless and incompetent the «elite» of the Kingdom was , Tom couldn’t even begin to imagine what the middle and lower class acted like.

"Exactly my lord! And marrying into a wealthy family of our kingdom can bring many economical and political benefits to you once you are crowned." the rather high pitched voice of another bearded man of the council added and Tom wished that he had the power to hex the man.

He already knew all the children of these wealthy families, and he could proudly say that none of them met his standards as a lifelong partner. He wasn’t going to waste his life with someone so below him. They served fine as right hands and loyal followers but nothing more.

" I am getting old Tom. And when the time comes I want to know you’ll have someone beside you to help you rule." the king pleaded.

"I can rule fine on my own. You should know how capable I am by now." he mumbled under his breath and turned to face his father once again. It was true the king was getting pretty old to do as much for his kingdom as he used to. He didn’t have the power he used to but Tom still couldn’t see the reason for the continously pushes for him to find a mate.

King Riddle avoided his son’s fierce glare that was coming from grey blue eyes similar to his own and stared down at his already wrinkled hands, playing with the golden locket on his chest. Tom’s mother’s locket.

Tom hated when he did that.

 That was a heirloom from his mother’s side of the family. The house of Gaunt , decendants of the powerful and prideful house of Slytherin. The prince found himself extremelly proud to be the only living heir of the Slytherin house rather than being the King’s son.

And the King knew that all to well.

Which was why he was using this heirloom to control his son at this very moment. He was always aware of Tom’s favouritism towards his mother. He finally lifted his head and stared back at his son , a look of fake hurt and fake pain in his eyes.

"Son …you need to understand the rules of this country, to be a king you shall be wed. Your mother would have loved to see you happy with someone you truly cared about. That’s why I –"

" Don’t.Even.Continue."  

The King stopped and raised an eyebrow at Tom’s harsh tone.

Tom was boiling with anger.

He wasn’t going to fall for it. That poor excuse of a king and father  had already stooped so low as to use his late wife’s love as a motive. It was pathetic. Nothing more than pathetic. He was pathetic.

Yet, Tom could’t help but agree that his mother would have insisted more to this marriege than his father and the council did but for entirely different reasons. His mother would have wanted Tom to find ' _The One'_ just like she thought she did when she was wed to the King.

But Tom knew better.

" I accept." He stated and felt the atmosphere of the room getting lighter. "Under the condition that only and if only I truly fall in love in these seven days I shall marry. If not I will not talk about marriege again anytime soon."

A self-satisfied smile formed on King Riddle’s face.

"Then, I shall order for the invites of the ball to be sent out, all over the Kingdom to every young man and woman who wishes to woo our Ice Cold Prince and melt his cold heart."  he exclaimed and giggled , making the rest of the council force out a laugh too.

Tom had already started walking towards the door , feeling the stare of a familar pair of clear blue eyes behind half moon glasses on his back.He needed to find a way to sabotage his own ball.

And he knew exactly where to turn for help.

 

                                                                                              ********

Harry couldn’t say he was expecting the day to become any worse but the loud sound of the doorbell informed him otherwise. As irittated as he was he threw his mop to God knows where and run to open the door.

"Goodmorning Ha- oh gosh!"  the mailman let out an acclamation as soon as Harry opened the door to greet him. He didn’t blame him.

"Oh my God Harry, what on earth happened to you?" the mailman’s voice showed high levels of concearn and Harry would feel rather good about it had it not been for his foul mood that day.

Harry did look worse than he usually did.His usually unrully hair , were simply a mess , his glasses were even more broken than they were yesterday ( Thanks Dudley , really wanted to see what falling off the foyer’s stairs felt like) and his usually bright green eyes now held a distant look underneath his scowl.

 He had worked his ass off yesterday and had been made to attend to all of Umbridges needs, which meant a whole day of suffering with no pay off. He had been waken up at five today too to simply make sure the frog didn’t need anything before her departure.

Also the little snake he had let in yesterday was nowhere to be seen which made Harry’s bad mood, worse.

" Good moring Neville..and Umbridge happened. Yesterday."

The other boy didn’t need any other explanation. He simply nodded and gave Harry a half smile that clearly said – Im sorry you had to deal with her- while opening his case to hand Harry four envelopes of the same color. He gave Harry a timid smile before waving goodbye and turning to leave.

Harry waved back and got in to inspect the letters he was just given without any prying eyes around.

Three of the envelopes were adressed to his uncle, aunt and cousin so he thought it’d be wiser to not open them. However the forth one was clearly adressed to him. A yellowish envelope, with green ink writing on the outsise and the symbol of a large snake wrapped around a castle sealed the envelope shut.

The writing outsise said :

To Mr.Harry James Potter.

_To me? I never get any letters…_

He quickly teared up the envelope , revealing the letter on the inside. The letter was written in elegant curvy letters with rich green ink. Harry had to double check the letter .

_An invitation?_

  _To Mr. Harry James Potter ,_

_in the attic of the Privet Manor_

_Mr. Potter you are cordially invited to_

_Prince’s Tom Marvolo Riddle’s eighteenth birthday._

_**A Masquerade Ball**_

_From the 26th of December till 1st of January_

_The ball shall be held from 8:00pm till 1:00am for 7 nights at the Grand Ballroom of Riddle castle._

_Sincerely  hope to see you there ._

_Best regards,_

_Head of the Royal  Council,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

 

Harry folded the letter and slowly  feeling lightheaded from the information.

He had just been invited to his first ball.

A ball held by the king himself no less. This was almost too good to be true.

" Why are you looking more stupid than usual? Did you finally lose it?"

Of course it was too good to be true. Dudley was coming down the stairs of the foyer , heading straight for Harry.

"What are you holding there freak?"

_Oh no._

" That’s none of your bussiness! It is mine." Harry went to quickly hide the letter inside his pocket , but Dudley had already grabbed his wrist , violently removing the invitation from his grip. His pig faced cousin , spent a few minutes reading and re-reading the letter , his eyes getting wider as he read more.

" AN INVITATION TO THE PRINCE’S BIRTHDAY??" Dudley finally exclaimed , his face a mask of confusion .

" Good job Diddy , you finally learned how to read letters, Im really proud of you."  Harry spat and made an attempt to take the envelope back but Dudley held it out of his reach.

"Why …why would anyone invite you..especially the Prince.."

" Guess I’m special like that." Harry made another effort to grab the letter only to be pushed aside by Dudley’s massive hand.

" Ma! Harry got a letter! Ma!" Harry trully felt like shoving the other three envelopes down Dudleys throat .

Aunt Petunia who was at the library ,started walking down the stairs at lighting speed. Hearing the distressed sounds of Dudley made her reach the two of them in no time. She shot Harry a harsh glare before turning motherly to her son.

"What’s wrong honeyface, what is that you’re holding ?" Her voice was way too sweet for a mother talking to a 18 year old kid , but what did Harry know , he never had a mother to show him affection.

" Harry got an invitation to a ball ,tell him he can’t go!"

Petunia’s motherly face dropped , replaced by a face of true shock.She motioned to Dudley to hand her the letter with trembling hands.

Harry really couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the gaudiness of his aunts actions. It was just a letter.

His aunt read the letter quickly, closed her eyes and took a big breath. After a moment she snapped them open and looked at Harry with eyes that didn’t betray any particular emotion.

"Call Vernon downstairs."

         

                                                                    ********

" There is no way he is going!"

Harry didn’t expect to hear anything else. In fact if he did , he would have been scared for his uncle’s mental health.

The Dursley family along with Harry were now located to the living room of the manor. Aunt Petunia was sitting in a chair next to a small bookcase , clutching her head between her hands. Dudley was sitting on the floor sending dirty looks at Harry every now and then and his uncle was sat besides the fireplace.

" Why not? I won’t cause you any trouble." He was pretty desperate to get them to let him go. This was his only chance at freedoom even it were for 7 nights.

" Why not??" His uncle’s face was starting to match the red shade of the burning flames in the fireplace. "You can’t possibly believe we’ll take you out with us when you look like this boy."  Vernom said and to " this" pointed to all of Harry.

"I can go alone! After you, no one will know that I’m with you. Or have anything to do with you."

"Absolutely not. Lots of people who know you.." Vernon gave him a calculated look before continuing " live with us will be there , they are definetely going to recognise you. I can’t take the shame."

The shame he says..as if I want to be related to awful people like you.

" But it’s a masquerade ball! No one will be able to te-"

"He can go."  

Three pairs of widened eyes turned to look at Petunia, who had lifted her head from her hands , now looking blankly once at the fireplace and once ay Harry.

" But mom! Harry is going to ruin everything like the freak he is, you know that!" Dudley lifted himself from the floor walking towards his mother.

" No Dudley , this boy got an invitation he must go...we...we can’t disobey Lord Riddle."  Aunt Petunia’s face was now paler than usual. Dudley’s face betrayed that he was 10 seconds away from a tantrum.

Harry on the flip side felt like he was on top of a cloud and had the desire to go and hug his aunt. A smile spread across his face as he bowed to her and went to get out and head to the kitchen.

" Under the condition-"  he stopped in his tracks.

" That you find to wear somethimg to match the elegance of this  important event." she added, a stern look on her face.

And with that Harry was out of the door, too happy to worry about such minor details as what to wear to the ball.

 For once he was going to live a fairytale.


	2. The lost bargain and the rules on how the game is played

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than expected...and Ao3 kept crashing yesterday so I couldn't upload it. But here it is now! Hope you enjoy!

The past few days had been hell.

Actually, Harry was pretty sure that even hell couldn’t be this bad even if it wanted to. Lucifer himself would shiver at how dark the atmosphere of the Dursley mansion would get as the day for the masquerade ball grew near.

Harry knew from the moment his aunt had agreed to let him tag along with them to the ball, something that normally would only be told as an unfunny joke, that she must be scheming something.

Harry stood correct.

Their agreement was that Harry could attend the ball, only if he managed to find the proper attire for such a high class event in time.

Harry didn’t think much of it at first but as the days grew closer he realized that he didn’t have many chances of actually buying clothes for the ball. Which made his chances of going as good as nonexistent.

His days were filled with chores around the house, something that made the task of heading to town and look around freely impossible. He was convinced his aunt made him do way more chores than usual just to take up all his time.

 He tried to make her let him go with Dudley and his uncle downtown to Madam Malkins , where Dudley was going to buy his own outfit  for the ball ,only to be turned down and gain more chores as punishment.

He saw Dudley walk around the house with his new outfit for hours after buying it. He was practicing with aunt Petunia on how to greet the prince once he met him and how to find interesting conversation topics that only wealthy people talked about.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. Dudley would be lucky if the prince didn’t ask the guards to kick the pig dressed in bright blue out of his palace as soon as he saw him.

But even though the costume made his cousin look even more of a pig than usual, thanks to its tight fit and high collar, Harry couldn’t help but admit that he loathed the brilliant blues and expensive looking material on the outfit. He silently wondered if he would ever be able to wear such rich clothing. Maybe in a dream.

At the very least he was sure he would look way better than Dudley.

Though his days were miserable to say the least, the sight of Dudley trying to act like the proper rich boy he was and not the usual  bratty bully was entertaining enough for Harry to feel a little bit better and forget about his own misfortune.

Even if his happiness was sure to be short lived he preferred it from being miserable all day.

                                                                                                                   ********

 

He was pacing again.

Since the day the invitations were sent into the public, he had done nothing but pace around and spent his days brainstorming ideas on how to ruin the masquerade ball and  the 'happily ever after' ending his father dreamed and planned about him.

 At first he had sworn on his pride and his loyal close circle to not allow himself to be dragged into this but here he was. He couldn’t prevail the ball from happening, but he still had plans and aces up his sleeve. The old man wouldn’t know what hit him.

But unfortunately, for these plans to come true he needed the help of others, as he was unable to take action by himself and not seem suspicious to either his father or Dumbledore. So he had left the preparations to others who he trusted wouldn’t dare to fail him while he was stuck in his room unable to act.

Pacing.

Up and down the room. Restlessly walking in the hallway till he reached the engraved black door at the end of the room , stare at it for a bit only to dismiss it once more and head back to pacing again.

Tom didn’t want to think of himself as inpatient, as that would destroy the perfect picture he painted for himself, but he had been waiting for over an hour now and no one had come to inform him on how the preparations were going like he ordered.

_Have these fools messed up something again?_

_Such a simple task as this. Really how useless can someone get?_

He suddenly put an end to his pacing, finding himself in front of the large dressed in gold mirror in his bedroom. He stared at his reflection with a smirk. Even though he had been slightly stressed these past few days his appearance gave nothing away. His face showed no signs of the sleepless nights he had and his hair were still intact even after running his hand through them countless times. He was really thankful for his father’s genes. At least something good came from that.  

A small smile started to form on his beautiful face only to be quickly dropped at the sight of a large crack at the right top corner of the mirror.

Someone was going to pay for this after all this masquerade ball madness ended.

He silently cursed the incompetence of the castle stuff. When he became king he would narrow down the number by a lot. Most of these people were downright useless, just taking up space and wasting his father’s and the kingdom’s money, and not providing any real substance. Thanks to the number of these peasants running around the castle the only place where he could find the solitude he so much needed was in the library.

Even his own champers were noisy. Something that Tom found both incredibly annoying and odd since he had specifically asked the stuff to remain away from his side of the castle when he was there. He was well aware and pleased to know that he was quite feared by the servants, yet some of them were dump enough to defy him and his orders , and driven by their curiosity about him enter his private rooms. Of course those who did, faced severe punishments but some still kept on coming back to take a look at the young prince. Ridiculous beings...

The library however was a completely different case. It had been discovered by him at the young age of 11 and remained his favorite room in the palace. Tom was truly grateful for the existence of the secret room. The room that existed as his chapel.

The night of his 11th birthday as he was walking from the dining hall back to his room he started hearing voices, hissing and urging him to come closer to them. Like the curious young boy he was, Tom followed the voices only to find himself in front of a door he had never seen before.

The door was large and round it seemed golden but rather old, maybe even older than the castle if that was even possible, it must have been grand when it was newer. It was decorated with 7 snakes, each of them looking in a different direction and all of them connected at the end. An overall incredible sight that caused awe to the young boy that had discovered it.

Tom to this day still doesn’t know what strange force made him do it , but he found himself asking the door to open up for him and as if by magic it opened revealing the room he had longed to see for so many years. He had always been interested in that particular room but his father was really strict about keeping him away from there for no obvious reason. The whole 3rd floor of the palace was usually the quietest, since the only people that visited it , apart from some servants that were ordered to clean it , was his father and Dumbledore.

He could clearly see why Dumbledore would be interested in this room. The ceiling of the room was so tall that it gave a sense of eternal continuity, it reminded Tom of the dark night sky. The walls around were filled with magnificent paintings that almost seemed like they would move any minute and  books of every kind, which he was sure contained all the secrets of the kingdom and the world they lived in. The room must had been off limits for the castle servants too since no one had ever bothered to go inside to clean it, explaining why everything was covered in dust. Still he was mesmerized by the richness of the room and kept coming back through the secret passageway that would only reveal itself to him, each day discovering something new and gaining knowledge no other person in the kingdom had.

Lost in his memories Tom didn’t notice the light knocking that came from the other side of the door till a voice was heard.

“My lord? Are you inside?” a muffled voice said from the other side of the door bringing him back to reality

“Yes Lucius, I have been waiting for you, come inside.” Tom said, recognizing the voice immediately. He ran a hand through his hair again. He really needed to stop doing that if he wanted to keep his hair.

The man didn’t need to be told twice, the door opened revealing the figure of a tall blond man in his 40s, wearing an expensive dark green tailcoat and a black top hat. The man took a few steps inside the room before removing his hat and kneeling in front of him.

“I apologize for my tardiness my Lord. I know no excuse will ever be acceptable but please allow me to express my sincere apologies.” said the man in a shaky voice.

Tom could almost feel a smirk creeping up his face. He was furious with Lucius for being late but watching how anxious the older man got for having displeased his Lord made him dismiss the thought of punishing the man.

“Stand up Lucius, this won’t be the first or last time you or the Malfoy family disappoint me.”

“But my Lord – “ the man begun, still kneeling down.

 “But nothing. And stand up already, we have way more important issues to discuss from your incompetence to be in time.” Tom said and started pacing around the room again. This time with more elegance and less anxiety than before. 

“What happened with the things I asked?”

Lucius had finally stood up ,holding his black top hat with his left hand ,and with the right taking a piece of parchment out of his pocket he started talking.

“I contacted all of the people you listed my Lord. They were all quiet happy to hear they could be useful to you and have agreed to join the ball as you order them too.”

“Excellent. Go on.” Of course his inner circle wouldn’t decline his orders that much he knew. What was worrying him were the next steps of the plan.

“The outfits and masks we ordered for the ball are going to arrive at the castle tomorrow. Madam Malkin said she was very happy to work for the castle, she sends her best regards.” here Lucius voice got a hint lower, clearly looking down at the person he was talking about. He couldn’t help but smirk at his follower’s arrogance. The Malkins weren’t as rich as the Malfoy’s but they have been proven useful many times.

“As for the game you suggested…”

Tom stopped pacing. He turned to stare at Lucius with anticipation in his eyes.

“Your father and the council approved of it and its rules. Though my father also informed me that it took a lot of pushing from countless members of the council to make the King agree , Dumbledore still refused to accept it saying that even though a «treasure haunt» for you, would definitely entertain the crowd , you would make sure to not be found by anyone .”

“Well he is right about that…” Tom sneered.

 As expected from the old man. He probably saw his plan from miles away. The rules of the treasure hunt game he came up with were simple. The guests of his ball were meant to try and woo the prince, but of course he wouldn’t make it so easy for them. To find him they’d have to solve a simple riddle, find a certain item with the help of the people he’d put in charge that would reveal where he was and when they found him they could spent a romantic night with him. Simple right?

There was a little twist though, that he was sure his father had dismissed , otherwise he wouldn’t had allowed this game with almost no chance of winning to be played . Even though the riddles for the items were easy, finding the items was almost impossible. They were very specific things that only Tom knew the location of, and even if the crowd asked around the people responsible they would only lead them away from their goal. 

It was a simple plan, but it fitted the circumstances. Tom could mingle with the crowd and enjoy his solitude at times without anyone bothering him since they would be too busy looking for the prince. That was unfortunately nowhere to be found.

“Anything else you’d like from me my Lord?”

“No Lucius you may go, be sure that everything is ready in time and not disappoint me again.”

“Yes my Lord.” and with a deep bow Lucius was out of the room.

Tom couldn’t wait to see the disappointment in his father’s face as he informed him that no one had been able to win him over since no one found him.

 

                                                                                          ********

 

As the days passed Harry continued to try make his aunt allow him to go downtown, he even used the excuse to go shopping for coal since the weather had gotten worse but to no avail. No matter what excuse he used he would always get turned down. His relatives had gone as far as to go shopping by themselves, something they never did, to avoid letting Harry outside the house. It was truly infuriating how much of his already minimal freedom had been cut off.

The day of the ball was a day away before he even realized it.

Needless to say Harry found himself locked in the attic again, for the 5th time this week, after a rather heated fight with his uncle. Tomorrow would be the first day of the ball and he still didn’t have a costume. It was so unfair. He strived so hard to do all his chores and remain level-headed but in the end he ended up being wronged once more.

He was cheated. He knew he was. His chance was given to him with the false sense of hope and the idea of freedom tingling around the promise of the ball just to be taken from him and make him feel lost.

Warm tears started forming in his eyes before he could shoo them away. They soon started falling slowly along his cheeks, creating wet paths behind them. The tears soon increased but he stayed silent. Harry had learned to cry silently over the years as crying noises that weren’t Dudley’s annoyed aunt Petunia.

His vision was now blurry, he couldn’t make out a single thing so he just closed his eyes shut, removing his glasses from his face and placing them near him, the trail of tears continuing to fall from his already wet and red face to the old mattress he was sitting on.

He hadn’t felt this miserable in a long time. He used to cry a lot when he was younger. When he was forced into the dark attic for the first time, when he was refused a warm dinner and new clothing, when he was made into a house maid from his relatives. He had shed a lot of tears for all of these but they had abruptly stopped.

But here they were again, years later to taunt him for believing. He had gotten so used to the dull daily routine of his that when a tiny speck of hope came into view and then got snatched away right before his eyes

He opened his eyes.

The darkness of the attic that used to frighten him as a child now provided the comfort he needed. He allowed himself a light sob that could barely be heard inside the void of the empty dark room but to Harry it sounded just as loud as the morning church bells that woke him up almost every day. He didn’t let another sound slip out. He felt so drained from the ugly fight with his uncle and from crying for the first time in years that his only wish was to manage to fall asleep as soon as possible.

His head hit the old pillow and his body automatically curled into itself turning into a fetus position, he slowly wrapped his hands around his small frame and shut his tired teary eyes once more.

Slowly drifting into sleep.

  

                                                                                                            ********

 

“It truly is a shame you can’t come with us Harry, but we made a bargain and you know I never go back on my word.” the voice of his aunt barely reached his ears even though they were standing next to each other.

His aunt was standing at the foyer waiting for her carriage to arrive and take them to the ball, her blonde hair was held neatly in an extravagant looking hairdo, her purple dress with white details hovering just above the ground, matching the purple of his uncle’s bowtie who for the past hour had been pacing around the house with his black tailcoat and top hat complaining about drivers and how they were never on time.

Next to Petunia, Dudley stood, looking like a male peacock showing off his tail. Unlike his parents, Dudley wore a blue tailcoat that was a bit too tight for him along with a matching blue mask that had a white feather decorating it. Harry would have found the sight quite hilarious had he not be feeling so sad.

He really didn’t want to be anywhere near them as they were leaving, he would much rather stay up in the dark attic all day, but he was forced to see them off. Possibly to rub it in his face that they were going and he wasn’t.

Well rub it in even more than they already did anyways. From the moment he got violently woken up by his cousin banging on his door Harry hadn’t found peace. He simply wanted to avoid all three members of the family but of course they wouldn’t give him the luxury of leaving him alone.

The whole day was spent with snide remarks from his aunt , taunting from Dudley along with a strong push that had ended in him falling from the stairs and breaking his glasses ( and possibly his nose but he hardly cared since it stopped bleeding) and  disapproving stares from his uncle who thankfully didn’t join in his wife’s comments.

So really having to see them departure was just the icing on the cake. Harry hoped they lived soon.

“Petunia! Dudley! The carriage is finally here.” it seems like Harry’s wish came true, as the loud voice of his uncle could be heard from the outside. The door opened and the fat head of Vernon popped in. His moustache covered most of his red face but you could definitely see the displeased look on it.

“I had to give a harsh scolding to the driver. These youngsters get lazier and lazier.” he said shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

“We shall get going, we don’t want our Didy to be late on meeting the prince.”  Aunt Petunia said and smiled fondly at her son’s figure before stepping out. Dudley puffed his chest at the attention, probably thinking about how he should look in front of the prince, and headed outside along with his mother.

Vernon stayed behind. Eyeing Harry suspiciously.

"Any funny bussiness while we are gone.." his face darkened as he spoke " and you are going to regret it for a long time boy." he spat and moved closer to Harry, trying to intimidate him with his posture.

“No funny business. Got it” was Harry’s dull response before he forced a smile on his face “Have fun.” It hurt to even say that. 

His uncle looked like he wanted to say something but got interrupted by his aunt calling for him. He gave a last calculated look at Harry and exited the house, banging close the door behind him. The sound made Harry flinch but he was already feeling better with them absent. He sighed in relief as the sound of horses started getting distant and the carriage got further and further away from the mansion.

He stayed frozen there for a few minutes, staring at the closed door like all his dreams were hidden behind it before deciding to head to the kitchen. At least he could find something to do there, there was always something to be cleaned or fixed that would get his mind away from the sadness and bitterness that drowned him. He started walking downstairs his mind still elsewhere.

He did find something to do. Until he fell asleep that is. Apparently when you are sad your body decides to stop functioning properly and needs lots of sleep to keep up with the usual routine. Harry could swear that was his first time falling asleep while cleaning.

His slumber didn’t last much.

A loud crashing sound broke through the quiet night making Harry jump up, his hands still wet from the cleaning and drool slipping from his mouth, his glasses forgotten somewhere on the kitchen table ,they weren’t any use as broken as they were. He quickly whipped off the drool, feeling embarrassed even though he was alone, and looked dully around the room to target the cause of the loud noise.

As if by request, another crashing sound came from the garden, this time followed by a muffled voice.

Now Harry was fully awake and fully panicking.

 _What time is it?_ He quickly looked at the clock next to the oven. _It’s already 9pm,_ everyone should be at the ball right now. _Except if their goal was to not go to the ball but to visit some other houses instead while everyone else was at the ball ,_ Harry thought and bit his lip, feeling his heart beating faster as numerous ideas came to mind about what or who was outside.

Whatever it was it had stopped moving, as the garden had gotten quite once again, creating a fake sense of security. Harry took some careful steps towards the window and looked outside. Nothing could be seen, they were no lights on and the sky was dark as coal, only the outline of some bushes and flowers could be distinct as they were underneath the moonlight.

Harry couldn’t go to sleep if he didn’t investigate it further. He grabbed a frying pan to use as a weapon if needed (it was a weak choice of a weapon, but since he didn’t know how to shoot and he wouldn’t want to harm anyone with a kitchen knife it was his only option) and silently cursed his curiosity but he knew he couldn’t fight it. If there was something dangerous and lurking out there he needed to know _._

 _If I get killed no one will care anyways, still, hope I don’t,_ were his last thoughts as he grabbed a dark brown cloak from the hanger , throwing it on him before stepping outside into the cold night.

As expected, the moment he stepped outside into the cold he immediately regretted his decision. _You can’t back down now_ , he said to himself and tightened his grip around the frying pans handle. He took a few blind steps in the dark, looking around trying to spot anything that could resemble a human figure underneath the soft light of the moon, while staying as silent as he could. Maybe it would be easier if he wasn’t trembling. From the cold? Fear? He didn’t know.

 _I should have taken a lantern with me, I can’t see anything in this darkness. Why do I keep making such irrational decisions?_ He thought to himself and a little voice at the back of his head was glad to answer

“ _Because you are a moron.”_

_Thanks._

His patience ran thin after five minutes of silently walking around trembling. He had reached the back of the yard now where a small but pretty fountain was located. Harry used to come here often and cry when he was younger. When aunt Petunia would scold him if he burned breakfast, or when Dudley would beat him just because he was in the way. He still liked this place, it gave him comfort and closure.

He stopped in his tracks as the sound of something coming closer and closer to him could be heard from somewhere near the fountain, but Harry couldn’t see anyone approaching. He took a few steps back, his grip on the pan now close to a death grip, ready to attack. If he could that was.

_Is it a ghost? Why can’t I see anything? Oh Lord why me .Haven’t I suffered enough.._

**_“Human. You came!”_** a small voice said somewhere from the ground , around his feet , making Harry let out a rather high pitched scream and lose balance , falling back and landing on a bunch of bushes and flowers.

Harry could feel his back and hips burning from the fall, he felt the twigs from the bushes pinch into his back, the bushes weren’t as soft as someone would expect them to be. His eyes were shut closed immediately by the impact of the fall. 

 ** _“I’m sorry! Is the human all right?”_** The little voice said again, full of concern. Harry should have realized what it was by now by the pronunciation of the ‘ssss’ but he still felt quite shocked when he opened his eyes to meet a petite green snake right in front of his fallen body looking at him.

Harry did recognize the snake once his eyes fully adjusted to the darkness. It was the same one he let get inside the kitchen a few days ago. He was really disappointed when he saw it had left. Those days felt like months ago.

 ** _“I’m fine. But you really didn’t have to sneak up on me like that.”_** he said and pushed himself up and started carefully throwing off some leaves that stuck on his cloak. When suddenly reality hit him, the loud noises and muffled voice that made him come out in the first place coming into mind and he turned to the snake once again.

 ** _“Were you the one who made all that noise earlier?”_** he said, picking up the frying pan from the ground once more. If it was the snake, then Harry almost had a heart attack for nothing.

The snake continued to stare at him for a bit like it was calculating what would be the best answer before shaking its head in an affirmative manner.

**_“It was me human, I was sent here to get you to come out.”_ **

**_“Get me to come out?”_** Now Harry was more lost than before, he had gone out to find a possible burglar and take him down, but he instead found himself conversing with a snake about things he didn’t even understand ** _._**

 ** _«Wait a second, you were sent here?”_** Harry couldn’t think of anyone he knew who’d want to meet him, let alone anyone who could speak to snakes too.

**_“By whom?”_ **

The green snake glanced around, before poking its tail to the direction if the fountain, that it’s waters were now sparkling thanks to the reflection of the moonlight.

**_“By him.”_ **

Harry’s gaze followed the direction of the reptile’s tail, his eyes widening from shock at the sight, the frying pan falling from his hands.

 Next to the small fountain was now standing a tall figure that hadn’t been there before. Even with his blurry vision he could tell that the figure appeared to be male and was dressed quite abnormally. Harry was sure aunt Petunia wouldn’t like this man whoever he was for many reasons, breaking and entering someone’s garden as a first, but also his unusual choice of clothing and overall mysterious aura.

 He wore a light blue coat with golden details of birds on it, most of them hidden behind his long white beard that ended just above his knees along with a golden cloak that was hanging loosely off his right shoulder. He didn’t wear a top hat like most gentlemen did but held what looked like a short cane in his right hand. Harry’s first impression of him was the he was quite odd.

The stranger’s eyes met with his and a warm smile spread across the elders face. Harry didn’t notice before, thanks to his shock, but the man did look quite old. His beard wasn’t the only giveaway, his face was full of wrinkles and he wore a pair of half-moon glasses that were hiding bright blue eyes full of wisdom.

_I can’t believe I got scared by someone’s grandpa._

“Harry my boy, come closer, an old man like me isn’t any threat to you.”  The man said, his voice smooth and kind but also not showing any signs of taking no as an answer and took a seat on the fountain, patting the space next to him.

Harry felt his body moving closer without him realizing it. Every logical sense in him told him to turn back, walk away, get inside and lock the doors or call out hoping for the nearby police to hear him. His body didn’t listen to any of these very logical options and with steady steps went closer to the man till he was standing right in front of him.

The old man smiled, his blue eyes looking gently at the young boy that had found the courage in himself to approach a totally suspicious stranger. He took a good look at the boy, he truly resembled his father as the rumors said, but his eyes…

 Harry couldn’t stand the silence as the older man observed him, millions of questions had popped up in his mind the second he saw the figure of the man, casually standing in his garden. So he just blurt out the first of the many questions that were running through his head.

“How do you know my name? I don’t know you.”  Harry prayed to whatever god that he didn’t sound as rude as he thought he did.

But instead of the angry response he expected to get for being rude to the elderly, the man in front of him just let out a small laugh before standing up.

“How rude of me, seems I keep forgetting and my manners as I get older.” he turned to Harry and lightly bowed his head. “Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, but most people just call me Dumbledore for obvious reasons.” he jokingly said and lifted his head, a small playful smile on his face.

Harry slightly frowned at the name. Why did he get the feeling that he had heard it somewhere before? It was such a peculiar name, surely he must remember if he ever encountered it, but nothing specific came to mind. More importantly…

“And how is it that you know my name sir?”

“Let’s just say I know a lot of things that most people find weird that I know about.”

“And my name is one of those things sir?”

The man stared at Harry intensely as if he should know the answer himself but unfortunately for Dumbledore he didn’t.

“I was a friend of your parents, brilliant people both of them. But I’m afraid we don’t have the time to discuss about them tonight.”

Harry felt like he had just been struck by lightning. This was the first time he met someone that knew his parents when they were alive, apart from his relatives that is. Suddenly the questions in his mind changed directions. He didn’t want to know more about the man or how and why did he get in but instead ask   information about his who and what kind of people were the parents which he never met.

The man must have seen the hopeful look on his face, because he shook his head and gave him an apologetic smile before speaking again.

“I am sorry Harry my boy, but as I said I think our chat about your parents will have to be set at a different time in a different setting.” he said and looked at a black watch on his left hand, a frown forming on his face. “We are already fashionably late.”

 He wasn’t going to back down so easily. If what the man was saying was true then Harry could finally learn about his past, he could finally learn who he is.

“I am sorry sir but I think I have every right to –“he started but was quickly cut off.

“You do have every right to learn about your heritage Harry , however this is not the right place or time. As I already said we are late and have to get you ready.”

 Harry could feel his face burning up with anger , who was this man to tell him what to do, he was trying to learn something important not get ready to go to wherever the hell the older man was saying they were late at. Wait. 

“Get...get ready for what exactly?”

“But the ball of course!”  Dumbledore exclaimed and started walking around the fountain. “My dear boy, we barely have time to get everything ready. And we’ll of course need to set a time limit so that your relatives won’t catch you, so many things to do.” the man kept mumbling to himself.

Now Harry was sure the man was playing tricks with him.

“Sir, I am sorry to disappoint but  I don’t have any clothes or a carriage. How will I ever be able to attend such a ball? And why would you help me get there?”

“The whys and whats are things we need to keep in the back of our minds Harry.” He turned and looked at him in the eyes.

“Do you wish to go to the ball Harry?”

Harry nodded. In all this madness that was his life right now, the ball sounded like something that could fix it all.

“Then that’s enough.” Dumbledore said as he eyed a round pumpkin that was close to his feet. “This should do.”

Dumbledore then took his cane and started waving it around while mumbling something under his breath. Harry looked at him, feeling all hope of having a normal conversation with this man crashing down. He was absolutely mad.

Or maybe Harry was starting to get mad.

After Dumbledore stopped mumbling under his breath, the world around the pumpkin started getting blurry and full of unbearably strong light. Harry felt his eyes slightly close from the brightness. When he opened them again, the space where the pumpkin previously was, was now inhibited by a white as snow carriage , pictures of seven golden lions painted on the doors , with four tall white horses in front of it.

Harry felt his jaw fall to the floor and went to fix his glasses, maybe something broke and made him see hallucinations, only to realize he didn’t even have them on him. So what he saw in front of him was real. Or well, he thought it was.He really didn’t want to believe he was slowly losing his sanity so he went with the second option, which somehow seemed more logical at the moment.

“Dumbledore sir,” he turned his attention back to the old man who was now appearing to talk to the floor “are you by any chance…”  he turned to look at him “a wizard?” 

Dumbledore didn’t respond right away, he stared at him for quite some time before turning his gaze back to the ground.

“Tell me Harry, do you believe in magic?” his voice echoed through the night.

Harry didn’t need to think too much on it. After what he had just seen, saying that magic didn’t exist seemed illogical. Plus he wasn’t that normal himself. He could talk to snakes for crying out loud.

“Yes sir.”

The man turned and looked once again at him, a smile spread across his face.

“Then I don’t think we need any more explanation to do.”  He said and walked close to Harry again.

“Bartolomeo told me that your relatives left around 8:30 so I assume they’ll be at the ball till it’s done. Whatever magic I use on you tonight it will be sure to end at 12, giving you an hour to get back home safely and not get caught but also plenty of time to have fun.”

 “Who is-“Harry started again, apparently he could only speak with questions to this mystery wizard.

“Bartolomeo is a little spy I sent to watch over you.” Dumbledore said and eyed the ground as if looking for someone “I suppose he left as we were talking, his job was done after all, though he seemed to have taken a liking to you.”

The image of a small green snake flashed through Harry’s mind.

“You can talk to snakes too?”  Harry couldn’t believe any of the things he was seeing or hearing, but finding another parselmouth gave him a sense of relief.

Dumbledore though, shook his head negatively. “Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit that certain talent, as you see I’m not related to any parseltongue bloodline but I always found it fascinating and tried to study it. Without much success if I’m being honest.”  He looked quite sad for a bit, his face souring at the thought of failing at something.  His expression quickly changed though to something more joyous and excited as he looked at Harry.

“But we are not here to listen about an old man’s failures, we have a ball to attend. Now let’s see…” he said and eyed the boy carefully.

Harry could honestly say that he was way more confused than before, Dumbledore could clearly speak to snakes yet he talked about how he couldn’t and something about bloodlines? Did that mean Harry was connected to these bloodlines?

Nothing made sense.

He thought that it’d be better to push these thoughts aside and focus on the main thing. He was finally going to the ball.

“Yes, yes this should fit you perfectly.” the elder man exclaimed , his white beard moving alongside him as he moved his cane around , pointing the tip at Harry.

Harry for a second thought that he was not ready to have magic pointed at him. A flashing image of him turning into a  large pumpkin came in mind and he felt the urge to run away.Instead of running like any other normal human would do, he stood his ground and closed his eyes tightly, hoping that whatever it was didn’t end up with him having something that his cousin could pick on for the rest of his life. Like an extra eye, ear, nose or a permanent orange complexion.

White light surrounded him. A warmth like he had never felt before tingled all his senses. He felt light as a feather, like he could fly away any minute now. The wonderful sensation came to an end and the white light faded out leaving Harry back to reality.

He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his usual blurred vision had been fixed. Harry couldn’t help but be grateful to magic for that. No need for broken glasses anymore. The next thing was the heaviness he felt on his body. Surely he wasn’t wearing that many clothes before.

“Well my boy? Go look at yourself and see if you like it. But you better hurry if you want to spent any time at the ball.” Dumbledore’s voiced pushed him completely back into reality. Did he change his clothes?

Harry took some steps towards the fountain and looked at his reflection on the water. Upon seeing himself he almost let out a scream. He looked nothing like before.

His usually messy and unruly  hair, were now slicked back ,only a few strands falling in front , creating a style he was quite fond of on him. His  worn out working clothes had been replaced with a fresh white shirt , a maroon vest and a lighter red tailcoat along with a maroon bowtie. The red tailcoat had golden buttons and some golden details of what appeared to be lions on the end of the sleeves. Last but not least the old brown cloak had been transformed into a red silky cloak that ended his appearance.

He looked like he just popped out of a fairytale. Like how he dreamed he would look like if he ever gotten the chance.

A little cough, placed him back into reality. 

“You should be leaving now.”  Dumbledore said and nodded to the direction of the carriage.

“I…yes...right…”  Harry felt like he was floating when he was walking towards the carriage. He didn’t want to question any of this. Questioning it would mean the magic was over.

He had already half-stepped into the carriage when Dumbledore let out a gasping sound. Harry turned to him and raised an eyebrow. A thousand thoughts came into mind. Was the man regretting helping him out? Did he realize he made a mistake and that wasn’t the Harry he was meant to visit?

Dumbledore walked closer to the carriage and with a light flick attached something on Harry’s face. Harry felt a string of fabric wrap around his head and a bit of his vision lost as his face was caged into something. 

“You can’t possibly go to a masquerade ball without a mask.” he said and gave Harry a wink. Harry couldn’t help but smile back.

“Thank you.”  He said and climbed up into the carriage. He didn’t have the time to process all the new information he learned about who Albus Dumbledore was but he knew that he was thankful to him.

“Don’t thank me my dear boy, think of it as a way of me thanking you.” Dumbledore smiled. “I hope you enjoy this magical night, till we meet again.”

And with that Dumbledore waved his hand and the carriage started to take off.

Harry stared back towards the house as they kept going further and further away, the mansion getting smaller and smaller till it got  lost in the distance. He sat back on his seat when the mansion couldn't be seen anymore and started thinking all the stuff he learned today. He managed to get a small headache just from thinking. Maybe it would be better to try and make sense of all that later. Dumbledore had said that they'd meet again after all, Harry could just ask him all the questions that burned his mind then.

For now, he was going to erase all that from his mind and enjoy the chance of freedom that was given to him.

He was finally going to the place where his dreams would come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly expositional but I hope you enjoyed it ! Dumbledore will be an occuring character so all the questions set in this chapter will be answered in the future. Harry's gonna meet a lot of people in the next chapter so please look forward to it!


	3. How Harry got dragged into all this

The ride till the palace had to be one of the most enjoyable moments in Harry’s entire life. It definitely reached the top five best moments on his list.

When the carriage left the Privet Manor behind, the world around him seemed brighter. The less of the manor he saw the more he felt a weight being lifted from his chest. As if he could breathe normally again.

The air of freedom sure was sweet.

After passing through countless large manors, which were almost identical to his relatives’ house mind the light changes, like the color choice of the walls and type of fence, the carriage reached the main town.

 The first thing Harry noticed was that the roads of the Gryffindor district were unusually empty. Harry was so used to the crowded streets, full of people that were a tad too eager to buy the things they wanted, not caring if they run other people over. He unfortunately had to face this craziness every time he went downtown with his aunt to help with shopping that the quiet streets now seemed abnormal. Everything was just too quiet for Harry’s liking.

_I guess everyone is already at the ball._

The emptiness of the streets even though unsettling to say the least, gave Harry the chance to see the town like he’s never seen it before. The main streets were decorated with bright reds and golds, the walls and doors of the small shops that Harry went to quite often, mostly to look at the window that displayed whatever the shop had to offer but to also buy whatever his aunt had ordered him to do, were filled with lion emblems that almost seemed alive as if they were going to start moving by any minute.

Last but not least beautiful golden lights lighted the dark streets of the town, making it look as if fireflies were dancing around the world.

It all seemed magical.

Harry took notice that even though most of the houses inside the town looked quite identical to the Privet house but not as lavished, buildings with gardens that were a tad too well-kept, the more the carriage got out of town, the more the houses seemed to change in appearance. They started to become smaller and less extravagant, their gardens not so well cared for much smaller in size too.

 By the time they were completely out of town and reaching the Slytherin district and palace, Harry had seen houses that resembled his small miserable attic more than an actual house. He supposed the people closer to the borders between the Districts were incredibly poor in comparison to the people inside and closer to the town.

 _That’s clearly unfair…_ he thought to himself.

_These must be the same people uncle complains about all the time. People like my parents…people like me…_

Harry shook his head, as if trying to shake the thought out of his brain. He didn’t have the luxury to think about his heritage when all his days were filled with work and no time to relax. But now that he did have the time he didn’t want to bring these thoughts in his mind. He could always as Dumbledore when he would see him again.

If he would ever see him again...

 Slytherin District resembled the Gryffindor District a lot. The only changes Harry could find were that, instead of the golds and deep reds his hometown had, the streets here were filled with green and silver. The lion emblems had changed to snakes and the lights here weren’t as bright, creating a sort of mysterious atmosphere. He was entranced with the new environment that he didn’t even notice the carriage stopping in front the enormous gates of the palace.

He leaned towards the window of his carriage and looked up at the large building. His eyes went wide and could swear his jaw could hit the floor with how open his mouth was. The structure in front of him was beautiful to say the least. It was almost like the castles that were drawn in those fairytales aunt Petunia used to read to Dudley.

The castle was seven-story high, placed in between green hills and dark blue lakes, creating a scenery right out of a book. Harry looked closer to the structure and noticed that there were fifteen solid, square towers that reached twice the height of the next tallest building and were connected by giant, massive walls made of white marble. Grand windows were scattered here and there across the walls in a seemingly random pattern, as noticeable green curtains hid the inside of the castle from the outside world.

Harry felt his head spinning just by looking at it. He shivered at the thought of what the inside of this place might look like.

 _Well only one way to find out._ He thought to himself, opened the carriage door and hoped outside. As soon as he was out of it, the carriage started taking away again, heading towards the forest near the castle.

_Hope they come pick me up again. I really don’t feel like walking all the way back._

Harry started walking towards the large golden gates of the palace where a number of guards were located. They all wore luxurious silver and green outfits, and were so still that looked as if they were made of stone. None of them moved as he got closer.

He was just about to walk through the gates when a figure stepped into his way and almost shoved him down. Harry let out a yelp of surprise and quickly found his balance. His head shot up to glare at the rude person that had cut him off.

“Hey, what’s the big idea? I want-“he was quickly stopped.

“Invitation” mumbled the figure, who turned out to be a rather intimidating guard. His hair was long and gray and Harry had never seen such an unkept beard before.

The man’s eyes that were glaring at Harry as if he had just insulted him seemed to be a shade of brown but looked almost bright yellow under the moonlight, like they were glowing. This man’s appearance sure was striking and would make his aunt faint from fear if she ever laid eyes on him.

_Why do they even have a guy like him greet the guests? Did he greet all the guests like that?_

Harry pictured the scene in front of him and a light giggle left his mouth before he could stop it. The guard didn’t seem to like this. His previously glaring stare had now turned completely sinister, as if Harry was something vile that happened to be dumped on the side of the street.

“Have you got an invitation or are you just wasting my time?” he growled and took a step forward, his hand firmly on his sword, teeth bared with anger. Harry was sure he didn’t want to mess with whatever type of crazy this person was. The man growled once more and he was so close to Harry now, he could smell the man’s bad breath.

Right. Invitation. Where is the invitation?

He started fumbling around his body, searching for any sort of pocket when the image of a yellow envelope left open on a small bed in an even smaller attic flashed through his mind. His hands automatically fell to his side and a look of terror crossed Harry’s face. He felt the world disappear under his feet, making him want to fall and kneel down, while he could feel his heart beating faster than ever before. He had forgotten the invitation. With all the mess that was created and how quick everything happened it was only logical that he wouldn’t even think to run back up and grab it. It was logical but also extremely unfortunate.

Harry didn’t know how long he was standing there petrified, but surely long enough for the intimidating guard to get concerned about him and think he might as well had died while standing up. 

“Look either you give me an invitation, or you can’t get in.”

Harry bit down his lip. He couldn’t back down now. He had gone through so much just to get a chance to walk through these gates that it would be unfair for him not to cause of some piece of parchment. He needed a convincing enough excuse on why he didn’t have his letter with him, and a quick one judging from the evil eye the man in front of him was giving him.

“You see…” he started and made his way closer to the guard. “It’s kind of a funny story...”

I was walking through my family’s garden looking for a burglar, armed with a frying pan when a snake appeared and introduced me to a wizard who gave me perfect vision, a pumpkin carriage and these fancy clothes that I’ll never wear again and are going to change back to what they were around 12. So I don’t have it with me right now, sorry.

 _I can’t possibly say that. He’ll think I’m mad_.

“I don’t like long funny stories so make it quick. Or perhaps you’d like to see what happens to lads like yourself who lie to me.” said the man with  hunger in his eyes and started tapping his foot, indicating that Harry’s time to explain was running as thin as the guard’s patience.

Harry could now feel a new wave of panic rush over him, his hands were sweating way more than usual as he tried searching around the pockets of his coat. Searching for anything that could be used to bride the guard to let him in. He could hear his heart beating, the sound making him go dizzy. He felt so lost when suddenly…

He felt something brush against his fingers when he stuffed his hand in the inside pocket of his maroon coat. He instantly pulled it out, he felt his heart doing somersaults inside his chest when he saw the yellowish color of the piece of parchment he had just found in his pocket.

 _Bless the old dude,_ was all Harry could think as he handed it to the guard.

The man looked at the invitation with surprise but took it from his hand with a low growl, and Harry could swear he saw a hint of disappointment in those bright eyes. He would have apparently loved to show Harry what he did to people who deceived him. Harry was extremely grateful he wouldn’t have to learn.

The eyes of the guard travelled from the envelope in his hands to Harry and back. This action continued for a bit before he stopped and gave the invitation back to Harry with a scowl on his face. Harry thought he looked like a little child pouting.

“You may enter…but I’ll keep an eye out for you kid.”  He said with a growl and Harry had never felt more relieved. He quickly passed the guard, trying to walk as far away from him as he could, afraid that if he touched him the man would snap his neck and walked through the golden gates and into the palace.

                                                                                                         ********

 “I asked for a simple thing and even that can’t happen correctly!”  He exclaimed and started walking even faster, going down the carpeted marble stairs with Lucius and Severus on his heel. He hadn’t expected the evening to start so disastrous but people still managed to screw up simple orders.

“My Lord please understand, we did it to scare away possible thieves and enemies of the kingdom from entering.” Lucius voice could be heard from his left as the man tried his best to catch up with the upset Lord.

“Yet you managed to scare away not only them but also important guests that my father and I had been waiting for.” Tom replied before reaching the end of the staircase.

He could hear the heavy breathing as the two other men finally reached him. He turned around to face them, a large scowl disfiguring his overall perfect face.

The two men wore similar outfits just like he had requested his followers to do for the ball. They were dressed in full black robes that reached their ankles , the only hint of color on them were their silver masks that covered most of their face as to not be recognized by the other guests. Tom was quite proud of these, as he was the one who suggested to make them look like a human skull. They indeed look very intimidating, making obvious how much of a contrast they were from the bright light and colorfully dressed guests inside the palace.

The man on the left took a step forward and bowed slightly his head to show respect.

 _This must be Severus, he never fully bows to me._ Tom thought and a slight smirk appeared on his face making the two men in front of him clearly uncomfortable.

“My Lord” Severus started “even though I agree that our action of putting Fenrir as the one to greet your guests was a tad…” he quickly glanced at Lucius on his right before continuing “…wrong from our side , I believe we have managed to successfully push away any threat for tonight.”  He ended and returned back to his previous place, next to Lucius.

Even with their age difference Tom was fully aware that the head of the Malfoy family and Severus Snape were close friends who wouldn’t let the other take the blame at times like these. Even if he deserved it. Well wasn’t friendship just magical.

“That still doesn’t excuse placing that filthy man at my gates and without my permission Severus.” he sneered and took a step forward towards them, his eye couldn’t miss the sudden uptightness his followers got when he approached.

At least they were aware of how much they had displeased their Lord. That could probably lessen their punishment. Probably.

“We’ll discuss more about this later, as for now” He said and placed his mask on, fully covering his face “ We all have a ball we should be attending.” Tom tried his best to not allow himself to sigh at the thought of the ball. His plan would work out. There was nothing to be afraid of, nothing at al-

“My Lord!”

The voice made all three men jump and turn their attention to the top of the staircase where two women were now standing. They were both dressed in luxurious looking gowns, the lady who was standing tall and had fair golden hair wore a sky blue gown, accompanied by a matching head piece and mask while the other who was jumping on her heels from excitement and unlike the other had dark brown locks wore a scarlet red gown with a black mask that covered up most of her face.

Tom didn’t need to see the woman’s face to identify her. He would recognize that shrill voice anywhere, as it usually followed him everywhere he went. Bella was well-known for two things among the higher class and the public in general:

Her immensely aristocratic beauty and her liking, dare he say near-obsession with him, which she made sure to show it even if it wasn’t exactly proper for her to do so. She was a married woman after all. Not that Tom cared much about her marital status. Even though she was beautiful and influential among the higher class, Tom couldn’t see her as anything more than a mere chess piece of his. A very treasured one, but a chess piece nonetheless. His eyes followed the two women make their way down the stairs, with Bella dragging her sister Narcissa, who looked like she would love to be anywhere but here right now,  behind her. At that Tom decided it was the perfect time to flee from there as soon as possible, not wanting to have to fight his way out of Bella’s hands for the entire night.

He turned his attention to the men in front of him once more.

“You two know what to do. Go to your positions and follow the plan we talked about. If I hear about another mishap...let’s just say that the consequences will be severe.”  He said, with a harsh tone and started walking away, not even bothering to listen to his followers answers, too scared he wouldn’t manage to get away before Bellatrix could get any closer at the end of the stairs.

 _Maybe I should head to the ballroom. Mingling with strangers while under a false identity could turn out to be amusing._ He thought and smirked under his mask.

This would be fun.

                                                                                                                        ********                                 

                           

Harry found himself looking around instead of going straight to the ballroom like he had intended to, trying to take in all the beauty that the palace had to give. He never thought he’d find himself in such a place, a place that would put his aunt’s clean and proper mansion to shame. The Dursley’s home looked like a bunch of stones and bricks next to the magnificent building Harry had found himself into.

The palace was filled with a green and silver palate that gave off a royal yet mysterious vibe. Each wall was covered with beautifully patterned tapestries , grand portraits of  previous members of the royal family looking down at whoever passed by them, paintings of war or exotic sceneries that sent you at magical places . Each floor was shining clean , giving of a marble-like beauty .The long corridors were carpeted with dark green carpets decorated with serpents and other animals on the hunt.

Each step Harry took, he was surprised with a new breathtaking scene. He found himself unable to stop looking around. If someone asked him to stay in these walls, even as a slave or lowly paid servant, he would had gleefully taken the offer. He wasn’t sure what it was but this place seemed magical to him. If he wanted to be honest with himself, everything about this night seemed magical.

Nothing could spoil this night. Or so he thought.

By taking a right turn at one of the corridors Harry found himself colliding with someone. He managed to see flashes of dark blue, brown and white before falling on floor with his back, the stinging pain of the friction making his eyes slightly tear up.

“Don’t you watch where you are going?” , the words left his mouth before he could even realize it,  the pain on his back making his voice come out louder than he wanted. He had now raised his head to look at the stranger that had bumped into him, only to find him standing up tall as if nothing happened, something that made Harry who was spread across the floor even more irritated.

The man was handsome. Harry couldn’t ignore that fact about him even if he wanted to. When you live in a small town like Harry and get to be in touch with only a small number of people, one of them being Dudley, you get to appreciate when someone is good looking because honestly, Harry hadn’t seen anyone as handsome as the man back at his town. That still didn’t excuse his rude behavior.

“Aren’t you going to apologize for knocking me down?” Harry said and raised an eyebrow at the stranger. It was already impolite of him that he hadn’t offered to help him up.

He inspected that beautiful figure a bit more. The man was obviously rich, if Harry was to judge by his clothing. A dark blue velvet tailcoat with small white details of what looked like swans was wrapped around him along with a pair of tight high wasted pants that were complimenting his figure. And Harry could swear the boots the man was wearing costed more than the entire Privet Manor.

Harry also noticed that apart from his great face structure, that was obviously gifted to him by some kind of fairy godmother, the man had luscious brown locks that fell neatly on his face and a pair of piercing grey eyes that looked at Harry with shock and confusion, as if he thought Harry was a new wild creature that he had just discovered. And judging by the grin that had started to form on the other’s pink lips that was exactly the case.

“I apologize for knocking you over, but don’t you think that it’s great that you are finally in a place where you truly belong? That being the floor.” the rich voice of the man said, as all the previous shock and confusion had left him, leaving a disgustingly mocking smile on his lips.

Harry felt his blood start boiling at the man’s words. The anger that built up inside him gave him the strength to pull himself up, which he sort of regretted after seeing the clear height difference with the rude stranger. Not like that would stop him from giving the other a piece of his mind. He could feel his hands forming fists and a deep frown forming on his face, the anger making his body slightly shake. All that under the now, less mocking, and more questioning stare of the stranger.

 _Can you punch people inside the palace? Do they allow it?_ Harry thought but quickly dismissed it.

Even if they do, I shouldn’t allow an arrogant rich git ruin my night. He thought and inhaled a big breath to calm himself down, his death glare not for once leaving the other’s eyes. He went to  turn around and leave when another thought flashed through his mind. With the sweetest smile he turned towards the man, held his hand high towards him and flicked the v at him before walking away, but of course not before catching the stunned and offended look of the other’s face. Harry kept on walking, a victorious smile hanging on his lips. He may had been immature but it was totally worth it.

                                                                                                                    ********

                                           

 Tom couldn’t believe what had just occurred in front of him. His face was still full of shock, his eyes staring at the same spot that boy was, even after his departure. He hadn’t expected the boy to actually make such a gesture at him but he did. He couldn’t tell if the other was too brave or too foolish for doing that to someone who was obviously above his status.

Though his clothes did look nice..., actually everything about that boy looked nice until he opened his mouth, he may have had a pretty face and expensive clothes but he definitely didn’t act like an aristocrat would. Kind of sad really. You'd expect such beauty only from aristocrats.

He hated to admit it but he had panicked. He hadn’t expected anyone bumping into him before he reached the ballroom, and definitely had not expected anyone knocking his mask off. But there goes that git doing both and scaring him to death. Tom didn’t even want to imagine what would happen had he recognized him. His whole plan would have gone to waste because a simple minded baboon bumped into him.

 _A very attractive babbon if you ask me, and somewhat interesting._ His inner voice said as he was picking up his fallen blue mask, placing it back onto his face. Well, he couldn’t ignore the excitement that the encounter with the peasant had given him but that was it. A mild interest at best. He couldn’t waste his time searching for someone like him, he had a plan to see fall in place. A victorious smile appeared on his face as he headed towards the ballroom.

                                                                                                                      ********

 If Harry considered the rest of the palace a wonder to look at , the ballroom was something else entirely, it was placed higher than a wonder. By the moment he stepped in he was amazed by the size of the room and by how full it was. He had never seen so many nicely dressed people gathered up in one place before, the closest thing that came to mind was the celebrations the town held but even these looked poor in front of what he was seeing.

Just like at the rest of the palace, the green and silver stayed strong but now gold had also taken its place all over the room, making everything look brighter than they could possibly be. The dark green walls were filled with banners that portrayed the emblem of the kingdom along with the number eighteen on. Around the room there were four large balconies, one of which, Harry assumed, was for the King to watch over the whole celebration. There were also seven large golden chandeliers , illuminating the space ,that hang right over the dance floor which was filled with people dancing along to the beautiful music the orchestra at the right end of the room was playing.

Harry found himself unable to stop smiling as he looked around, his eyes wide with excitement. He needed to get closer to the music. He started walking down the stairs that were placed in front of the door he had entered from. He was thankful he didn’t have to walk through the main door, where they would also shout out his name, for two reasons: 1) he didn’t want his cover to blow up in his face as the Dursleys, after hearing his name get announced threw him out of the ball and 2) he was never comfortable with that much attention. Which he still got, by some of the guests that looked at him with curiosity as he was descending the staircase.

As soon as he reached the end of the stairs he was given a glass of what looked like wine from one of the many servants that walked through the crowd of guests. Harry inspected his drink before taking a testing sip. He was left with a bitter taste on his lips and decided that it was probably for the best for him not to drink. He should be ready to leave before twelve struck, he couldn’t be drunk by that time.

Harry quickly realized that it was better for him to stay put in a spot rather than trying to move around the room, because every time he actually went to do so someone would get in his way and leave him crumbled between other people. So yes, better stay put while the dance was still going strong. He took advantage of his stagnation to look at the other guest’s that the Prince had invited. He was soon to notice that the status of the people that were invited ranged from almost royalty to normal citizens just like him. Harry could see the colorful gowns of the rich ladies, and the canes their even richer men held, in contrast to the simpler and tamer gowns and suits of the townspeople..

The Prince doesn’t seem to care about the status of his guests. _Unlike some other people._ Harry thought and a flash of a cocky grin and a pair of grey eyes passed through his mind, making him frown with displeasure. He hoped he wouldn’t have to bump into that man tonight again. Harry couldn’t allow that small encounter ruin his night. 

As if on cue, his eyes immediately spotted that familiar blue figure at the other side of the room, he seemed to be talking to a rather short older woman with brownish hair, small black eyes and a yellow gown, who seemed more than eager to get her hands on the boy in front of her. Harry watched their interaction from afar, the way the older woman batted her eyelashes every time the boy would smile at her making his skin crawl. He decided to walk deeper into the room, afraid of accidentally locking eyes with the other.

Harry was in the process of staring intensely at the peculiar yet somehow beautiful haircut of a lady who wore an aquamarine mask with a white flower on top when the music that was coming from the orchestra came to a sudden stop, making all the guests that were dancing stop and Harry tear his gaze away from the lady and look around the room confused. The room filled with murmurs and even rude statements towards the maestro who had stopped the instruments from playing. Harry would also like to know why the music had stopped, because he was sure that it wasn’t for good.

The murmur of the room came to an end as soon as a figure of a man wearing a dark green mask and attire appeared on the highest balcony in the room, the man cleared his throat in a way to indicate that everyone should pay attention to what he was about  to say, and started talking.

“My dear citizens, supporters and friends.” Everyone had stopped whatever they were doing and looked up at the balcony. Some parts of the large crowd that now had their eyes fixed on the King laughed approvingly at the mention of friends. The aristocratic families for sure, Harry thought as he saw some of the rich men with the canes grin and look around the crowd, waiting to be acknowledged by the people around them.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate my boy’s eighteenth birthday, a very important year for a man’s life and I must say that your presence here is greatly appreciated. Not only for your wonderful company but also because your presence is what makes the fun game that me and the Prince came up with, playable.”  He said and smiled warmly at the audience in front of him who stared back at him with surprise and confusion.

Harry’s eyes felt like they would fall out of their sockets from how wide they were. He tried bringing into his mind the invitation he got. Nowhere did it say anything about a ‘‘fun game’’, and he was sure he didn’t want to play it. But he wasn’t the only one who seemed unwilling to play. Lots of people started talking in groups, whispering to each other, trying to make sense of their King’s words, their loud blabber filling the room with noise.

The King had to do nothing more but merely raise his hands for the whole room to fall dead silent again. His previous warm and nice smile was now replaced by a thin line of lips that turned downwards, that clearly indicated his displeasure towards his subjects. Harry felt like huffing at his face. Of course people were going to be upset over this, he knew he was upset, the King should have expected this. He went closer to the edge of the balcony and started addressing them again.

“My friends, my son and I have taken this game of ours very seriously, so it is only obvious that I’d expect from you to do the same.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “As you know, the ball for the Prince’s birthday lasts seven days. The games duration will also be seven days, starting of course from now. I have to also add that not everyone can participate.” He said and a low murmur started to spread across the crowd. Harry just prayed to whatever God would listen that he belonged to those that were getting excluded.

“The people we are going to allow to enter and participate, must be single, and trust me we know who is and who isn’t.” The King concluded with a playful laugh and looked at the crowd with a satisfied smile. Harry on the other side was cursing his bad luck. All he wanted was to have a taste of freedom. He knew this game was going to ruin it. It was so obvious what the objective would be. They needed them to woo the Prince, and do it in the spam of seven days. What a complete joke. He had no intention of even trying.

The King stepped back and his place got a nicely dressed man with blond, almost silver hair that were up in a ponytail. Harry immediately recognized him as Abraxas Malfoy, he had seen his face on the newspapers before, he was one of the King’s most trusted advisors. The man waited for the crowd to calm down before speaking.

“The rules of the game as well as the objective are very easy to understand. I assure you that none of you will face any problems understanding them.” He said and took a piece of parchment out of his tailcoats pocket, bringing it close to his face.

“The game is a simple and well-known game, that we are sure you are all accustomed to, a treasure hunt!” he exclaimed. That seemed to pick the interest of some of the people inside the crowd. Abraxas allowed himself a tight smile before continuing.

“Each night the participants will be given a piece of parchment and asked to solve a riddle that will lead them to what the item they are looking for is. After they solve it they are free to search for it, or if they have a rough time looking around, they can ask hints from the game masters in the dark robes that are more than willing to help you.” Harry’s gaze immediately fell on a darkly dressed figure that stood in the shadows of the room. He was positive that they weren’t as willing to help them as Malfoy said.

“The objective is to find the item first and bring it to the King. With every item you find you get the chance...” Abraxas grinned at the anticipation of the crowd “… to meet the prince, and spent time with him alone somewhere in the castle.’ He finished, the grim on his face wider at the crowd’s gasps.

Harry let out a low groan before he could manage to suppress it. Not only was he forced to play a game he didn’t even want to play, he also had to do it to win some sort of secret date with the Prince? How cruel could life be? He turned his head around trying to find someone to sympathize with him but all he saw was excited faces and ladies at the verge of fainting from the news they just heard. Harry frowned. Was the Prince really such a catch?

“The game is going to take place inside the palace grounds that you are free to explore with only a few exceptions: The King’s private chambers, the Prince’s private chambers and the west side of the 3rd floor. The rules are also quite simple:  **1)** You are not permitted any of the rooms that have been excluded **2)** The participation of any member that isn’t free of any marital promises is strictly prohibited, **3)** Attacking other contestants will get you disqualified from the game and thrown in prison if the attack is too serious, **4)** Any sort of vandalism will be noted and the person that caused it will get punished. **5)** The items when found are to be presented to the King by the one who found them, and finally number **6)** The game shall end at the night of the seventh day, whether the items have been discovered or not. The Prince shall then announce who he wishes to marry if by then any of you have won over his heart” he said and folded the parchment, placing it in his pocket before turning to the crowd again. “The riddles for today will get passed to the people who can participate. Let us have a fair game and a great night!”  he said and without another word left from the balcony.

Harry sat still for a bit, his brain making turns as it was trying to process all the new information he just heard. The people around him started talking with each other loudly and excitably. It seemed that everyone apart from him loved the idea of wooing the unseen Prince of the Hogwarts Kingdom. Harry could see why, marrying the Prince not only gave you the highest status you could get but also immense wealth and power. He of course didn’t care for any of that, even though he loved the idea of spending his time in the palace, the thought of being royalty didn’t sit well with him. Harry was sure he wasn’t suited for that kind of lifestyle. 

The orchestra started playing again and the room filled with music, as the dancefloor filled with people. Harry managed to get dragged along with the crowd that excitedly made its way around the room and ended up several meters away from where he previously stood. He found himself staring blankly at the couples dancing in front of him, his mind too deep in thought to care about that.

_What did the King try to achieve by this…it’s not like he can just accept any candidate! Can’t he get his son married with another noble’s family’s heir?  And why isn’t the Prince presenting the game? What sort of game were father and son playing? And why did Harry as the rest of the world had to get involved in it? And why-_

“Don’t you think it’s weird that the Prince isn’t around? It’s almost like he wants to not be found by anyone.” A light voice said at Harry’s right, making him jump in surprise, almost dropping down his glass of wine.

“I am sorry, were you talk-…”

He quickly turned his head to face the source of his startle, only to be faced by one of the most weirdly and yet oddly intriguing looking girl he had ever seen in his small life. If he hadn’t been gripping his glass so tight he would have dropped it by now.

The girl seemed to be around his age, maybe a year younger. A pair of rather abnormally large pale silvery blue eyes was looking at him with what he could sense as mild interest behind a yellow mask with flowery details, her lips pulled in a kind of aloof yet kind smile. Though her face wasn’t exactly something someone would call out as weird, her hair and dress begged to differ by being one of the weirdest if not the weirdest in the entire ball. The gown she was wearing seemed to be consisted of a lot of pieces of different shades of yellow sewed together, making her look like a weird kind of flower. That exact weird yellow flower (a sunflower?) was located on top of the girl’s dirty-blonde hair, along with other small white margaritas that were tangled in her hair, giving off the feeling that someone had placed them there without the girl knowing.

Harry suddenly realized that he had just been staring at a girl without saying a world for an awfully long time and felt his whole face start to burn. He wasn’t one for manners but after spending so much time with his aunt around he at least knew what not to do around a lady. And staring at her intensely definitely belonged in that list of things. Also the girl had actually asked him a question he had yet to answer.

He cleared his throat, trying to make sure his voice didn’t come out as weak from the embarrassment.

“Yes I also think that is weird…and I am sure he doesn’t intend to be found, easily that is. Is he always this mysterious?”  He said and shrugged, feeling the awkwardness leaving his body as the girl’s kind smile widened.

“He is. My father says that the Prince is cursed to never be able to find love. Quite sad really.” She concluded and shook her head to indicate her sadness.

“I see…that is quite sad. But I’m sure it’s not true, everyone can feel love.” He said and gave her a half smile, maybe opening a discussion about the hidden Prince wasn’t the best idea.

“You are nice.’ She said as if it was a statement and Harry felt his face starting to warm up again. Saying that he wasn’t used to compliments would be too obvious. But he really wasn’t used to compliments or any sort of praise, especially so forward.

“Eh…thank you. You are nice –“ Harry never managed to end that phrase as a tornado of red and blue passed by him so quick it nearly knocked him down. What was with people knocking him down today?

When he got his balance again, he looked over at the girl he was conversing with a few seconds ago, to find her in the tight hug of a red haired girl, with a pretty light blue gown that seemed tad too big for her. The other girl didn’t have the intriguing look that the girl in yellow did, but Harry found her quite interesting to look at. Maybe it was her fiery red hair, pulled up in a high ponytail that reached her shoulder, that triggered his interest, or maybe the small freckles he could see on the nape of her neck and arms, or even the way she was squeezing the other girl in her arms, as if the two of them were alone in this huge room.

Harry found himself wanting to learn more about this peculiar pair of strangers. He was there to meet new people after all. He cleared his throat hoping it would bring him some sort of attention, and with relief saw the blonde girl’s gaze turning on him once again, her already soft smile widening a bit more. She grabbed her partner’s hand and twirled her around so the both of them could face Harry. The red haired girl, who was wearing a blue mask to match her dress, looked Harry up and down, before raising a questioning eyebrow at him, obviously questioning why he was talking with her friend. He suddenly found himself wondering if this interaction was going to end well or not. 

Thankfully for him the yellow dressed girl took it upon herself to continue their interaction and walked closer to him, dragging her friend behind her, before stopping in front of him and doing a light bow. The girl beside her copied the bow, though Harry could tell she was still kind of suspicious, though she was now smiling at him , something close to interest flicking in her eyes. He bowed to them and tried his best to put on a kind smile as he introduced himself.

“Harrison James Peters, but you can call me Harry, it is a pleasure to meet you.” he said and kept on the smile on his face.

He had been trying to come up with a fake name in case anyone asked him, but all he could come up with was something similar to his actual one. He didn’t want to risk getting caught by any of his relatives or any of their guests who knew him by name. Better safe than sorry.

“Ginevra Weasley, but you may as well call me Ginny” the red haired girl said and pointed at the girl next to her, a fond smile forming on her lips. “And this is Luna Lovegood” she turned to Harry once more, a bright smile on her face.

“We are very pleased to meet you.” There was definitely some sense of mischief in her tone.

Harry quickly found out, that he was extremely lucky that Luna had talked to him. He had never spent so much time and had so much fun talking with other people. He also learned a lot about the two girls that had approached him. Luna was an only child and the daughter of a writer of a very controversial newspaper who didn’t trust the King and he, apparently had sent them an invitation to prove them wrong.  Harry found himself wondering if the allegations towards the King that the newspaper supported made any sense to anyone, to him they didn’t. He was pretty sure the King didn’t have enslaved elves working for him and the palace.

 Ginny on the other hand, had six brothers, all of them older than her. Most of them hadn’t come since they were already settled down, overseas or simply didn’t care. She said the reason they had been invited in the first place was because her father and one of her brother’s worked in the palace, but she saw the invitation as an opportunity to be Luna’s date for the night and keep weirdos away from her , which made Harry question who could possibly be weirder than Luna. The two of them were talking about getting engaged sometime in summer, which made Harry weirdly happy for them, and also kind of pity the Prince for losing such interesting companions. Harry kept quiet most of the time, not wanting to leave out too much personal information.

The three of them were comfortably seated in a large green couch, when Ginny suddenly shot up from her seat, her hands moving fast above her head as she motioned to someone to come closer. Harry stretched his head to catch sight of a tall red haired man in a brown suit walking towards them, a girl with frizzy hair and dressed in a periwinkle- blue dress walking beside him. He came to the conclusion, that it must be the younger of Ginny’s brothers and his fiancé. She seemed to be scolding him for something but Harry could tell from the way her hand was around his that she wasn’t even remotely mad at him. He thought that they made quiet the cute pair.

“Ginny finally! This place is huge, we had trouble finding you.” Was her brother’s greeting as he reached them, his freckled face held a relieved smile.

The girl beside him, let go of his hands and rolled her eyes, clearly noting it as an exaggeration. Harry found himself agreeing with the boy, if he was left alone in this place he was sure to get lost. His shoulders stiffened as he took notice of the two pairs of eyes that were now looking at him. He abruptly stood up, almost tripping over Luna’s gown.

Ginny decided she should help him with introductions. She turned to the newcomers and pointed politely at him.

“Ron, Hermione, this is Harrison Peters, Luna started talking to him and we got to know each other a bit. Really nice fella.” She said and Harry couldn’t miss the playful wink she sent his way.

“Harry this is Ronald Weasley, my dump older brother and his beautiful fiancé Hermione Jean Granger.” She said and smiled widely as Ron let out an offended “ouch!” and Hermione giggled at her partner, before bowing her head to Harry, him copying her actions. Ron, after pinching his sister’s cheek for what he believed was a satisfactory time, extended his hand to grasp Harry’s. He returned the handshake, finding the other boy’s grip warm and welcoming. He was honestly shocked with how well people acted towards him.

_If you ignore that bastard that knocked me down…_

Harry could say that this day, was one he was going to remember for a long time. Was it because of the weird wizard he met, was it because he was hanging out with people, he didn’t know. He had honestly never felt more welcomed before, and these people he knew for 25 minutes at most had showed him and told him so much he could barely keep up. He had learned that Ron was training to become part of the King’s knights who apparently were very well respected, that Hermione even though coming from a family of farmers had managed to become very politically influential in her community, especially to the rights of workers. She personally didn’t like gatherings such as these, but she considered it crucial to meet other influential people, and try to talk to them about her opinions. Though some of them just wouldn’t listen as she said. 

“ I tried approaching Draco again about the awful treatment his father’s workers get , needless to say Ron and I spent the rest of our time dancing as close to him as possible trying to make him trip or stand on his foot, by ‘accident’ .” The girl said and with a huff, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Harry concluded that the Malfoy family, even though well respected by the public had no respect for anyone. He already disliked that ‘Draco’.

“I am quite proud, I made him trip at least three times, one of them ended up with knocking another girl with him. I think it was Parkinson, Hermione wouldn’t stop giggling beside me.” Ron said and sent his blushing fiancée a proud smile.

Harry couldn’t help but feel ashamed, these two were the same age as him and had already accomplished so much. He had to lie about his family’s state and current occupation, saying that he wanted to take over his father’s vet office. Harry liked animals much more than humans, and he had come to their aid many times even when he was little but had no idea how to medically treat them. He could see just how inferior he was to the people who had control over their own lives.

The night was going smoothly for him, until one of the ominous looking “game masters” approached him, as he was the only single one from the group, giving him silently a piece of paper before walking to the next person. He shrugged and went to place it in his pocket, dismissing it until he is stopped by Luna’s soft hand. He turned to face her, his eyebrow raised in question.

“It might be fun to join.” She said, the flowers on her hair tangling as she moved her head to point at the paper “I wouldn’t lose a chance like this, besides...”  She removed her hand from his forearm, “I heard the castle is full of nargles and all kinds of other creatures. If you join, we can all go search for them.”  She said and smiled sweetly at him before laying back to her previous position against Ginny’s chest. Harry stared at her calm expression for a bit, wondering what in Godric’s name  were these creatures she was talking about, when Hermione interfered with his thoughts by talking.

“I made plans of looking around the castle as much as I can, I am really looking forward to find the royal library. So we can also go look for whatever that thing is Harry, a bit of exploration can’t hurt!.” She said, and her eyes had become twice as wide from excitement. She sure loved her fair share of books and reading. Harry had realized that much.

Ron who was now seated beside Harry gave him a side glance, full of sympathy before shrugging his shoulders. He became quickly his favorite person in the group. Ron seemed to roll with everything and genuinely care for all the members of his family from the way he was talking about them. Harry could easily say he felt relaxed around Ron.

“ Maybe you should consider actually searching for him mate, and when you find him punch him for all the years we had to pay such high taxes!.” He said and flashed him a grin that Harry couldn’t help but return. Hermione shook her head scandalized as if her husband-to-be had just admitted of kicking a kitten.

“Ron! He can’t do that, he’ll get executed if he does.” She said and glared accusingly at both of them.

“Worth it.”

Harry was about to protest that it actually wouldn’t be worth it when Ginny cut him off by jumping up from the couch, her blue gown flying behind her as she did. She turned her warm brown eyes at him, a mischievous smile formed on her face.

“We are doing this.” She simply said before walking towards him and taking the paper from his hand.

Harry had officially been dragged into the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! This was supposed to be ready much earlier but school work made it difficult to find time tow write. I decided to cut the chapter short, since it was getting far too long so the next one , I promise, is going to be mainly Harry and Tom centered. Thank you for reading and for your support!~  
> ps: flick the v at someone , is a rude english hand gesture that means " piss off"  
> My tumblr is: @arrogant-slytherin-boy , if you want to leave a message or check out some moodboards for this story!


	4. Solving the riddle with the help of a Lord

* * *

The room was bright and vivid.

Full of light, music, extravagant decorations and people wearing colorful and eccentric clothes, along with decorated masks that kept hidden from the world their actual identity. Quite poorly if you asked him.

Tom had been inside the ballroom hardly ten minutes and could already name at least nine of his father’s friends children whom he had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting. It was easy to spot the spoiled aristocrats in a sea of people. He could see the Malfoy heir, dressed in blue, holding a laughing girl close as they made their way through the guests clearly heading to the dancefloor, two brawny figures dressed in black  behind them, rudely pushing people out of the way as they were walking.

 _These large sacks of meat must be the Crabbe and Goyle heirs, Lucius told me that they follow his son around like lapdogs...how pathetic._ Tom thought as he followed the group with his eyes.

He should probably go join them later, to see how his future followers were being brought up, but before that he had a lady to find and a plan to follow. He walked around the room a bit, making sure to stay in the shadows and the corners of the room, the paranoid idea that someone might recognize him never leaving his head.

It didn’t take long to spot her. Hepzibah Smith though short in stature was a rather large woman which made it easier to spot her in the sea of colorfully dressed individuals. She herself was wearing a yellow gown, obviously to indirectly brag about her connection with one of the first rulers of the Kingdom, Helga Hufflepuf. Her gown was a tad too long for her, with a rather deep cleavage that Tom considered much inappropriate for someone her age but since he needed to get her on his side he couldn’t bring his honest opinion to her attention.

He made his way through the crowd to reach her, placing a hand on her waist as a way of greeting. Her head snapped to his direction, a scandalized frown on her face indicating that she was ready to scold whoever had dared to place his hands on her, only to smile widely when she recognized who the man behind the mask was. Tom would love more than anything to not have his hands anywhere near this woman but she was the type of person that you could convince to do your biting only through physical touch and promises for more.

After being properly recognized, Tom let go of her waist to instead grab her gloved hand and bring it to his lips, lightly kissing it, making its owner blush. The woman took her hand back, fixing some of her untamed brown locks behind her ear, embarrassed but still grinning widely.

“Always using flair my dear Tom. No wonder all these people gathered to see you.” she said cheerfully, chuckles leaving her throat as she spoke, her eyelashes batting like crazy.

Tom had the sudden urge to drag her to the nearest port and push the woman into the cold waters of the ocean. Calling him, a prince, soon-to-be king, casually by his name was one thing but calling him like that in front of people that were supposed to be looking for him was even worse. Thankfully the music of the orchestra was quite loud, so it was quite possible that no one heard anything.

He masked his anger with a smile and placed his finger on his lips, a low hissing sound leaving his lips. His grey blue eyes meeting Hepzibah’s little black ones.

“I appreciate the compliment but I’m afraid my identity is supposed to be kept secret madam, while I am here you shall address me as ‘Lord Voldemort’” he couldn’t help but grin at the sound of his made-up title. He had been quite proud when thinking about his persona, ‘Lord Voldemort’ was surely a name that fit the young Prince much more than the disgustingly common name his mother had insisted on.

“I’m sure you understand.” he finished and gave her one of his sugary-coated smiles, that thankfully made the older woman blush so much she resembled a rotten tomato with how red she was and how yellow her gown was. 

“Don’t worry dear, us from the Hufflepuf District are known to be good keepers of important secrets.” Hepzibah took a step towards him, her gloved hands taking hostage Tom’s right arm.

“Especially important secrets of those we are quite fond of.” she said and gave him a wink which, coming from anyone else would be charming, but coming from her was at the very least hideous.

Tom doubted that was true but didn’t have time to protest as he got the sense that they were being watched. He snapped his head around and scanned with his gaze the crowd, when he spotted the red end of a tailcoat moving through the other guests. He couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of the adorably angry face of the red coat’s owner.

A part of him wanted to abandon the uncomfortable company of the older woman and instead go after the peculiar boy but he had a goal in his mind. Tom needed to pursue Hepzibah tonight if he wanted his plans to go smoothly. And that meant sacrificing his fun. It wasn’t like he couldn’t have any fun without the boy.

“Oh! I adore this song! You would give me this dance right dear?”

He’d find him later. 

                                                                                                              ********

He didn’t find him. Or rather couldn’t find him.

After many dancing sessions with the Hufflepuff heiress, and tons of compliments that were in no way, shape or form true, he had managed to get a deal out of her. He planned on having one of her treasures as an item the guests would search for one of the following nights, making it perfect enough so that no one would suspect it. Who would suspect a cup among other cups? Even if people solved the riddle he’d put they’d have to know as much as he about Hogwarts History to recognize Helga’s cup and know enough about him to think he’d choose that among the others as his item.

 A historic golden cup among other golden royal cups. And only one right answer. He could already picture the irritation on his father’s face as the guests would keep bringing him different kinds of cups which he’d of course have to turn down as the wrong choice.

Tom smiled to himself, feeling triumph that his plan was going smoothly so far. If things continued to go like this he’d have no problem avoiding the mere idea of a consort for the rest of his li-

“Don’t you think it’s quite idiotic? Making us run around the castle like that!”

The shrill voice of the girl next to him brought Tom into the unpleasant reality he had found himself into. He turned his gaze to the girl, her eyes fixated on him, looking at him adoringly while she was waiting for an answer. Tom couldn’t help but focus his gaze on the nose of his dance partner, which highly reminded him of a dog breed he couldn’t quite remember the name of.

He had started walking away from Hepzibah after the deal had been sealed, he needed to find a certain someone after all. Unfortunately for him the second he was free from company an incredible amount of girls threw themselves at him like wild dogs. It was almost disgusting how hard they tried to get his attention, but Tom made sure to keep his snarls towards them to a minimum. Maybe he should have been harsher. If he had been as rude as he had wanted to, the unwanted company of his wouldn’t be clinging at his arm as if he was a lifesaver.

“I suppose that you won’t be joining this silly game then?” Tom said, trying his best to cover any sign of detest in his voice. As much as he preferred the Parkinson heiress over Hepzibah, she was still quite annoying, though not as flirtatious as Tom expected her to be. Maybe the rumors about her and the Malfoy boy caught snogging at the charity ball weren’t just rumors after all.

“Dare I say you are interested in someone else? Quite a pity. I was sure someone like yourself would join Ms. Parkinson.” the poor girl’s eyes widened from shock at the mention of her actual surname. Honestly as if using a fake identity would do her any good. Whoever knew her even a little bit would be able to tell who she was. What a silly girl. 

“The poor Prince would lose such a wonderful bride.”

The girl let her mouth gap as if she meant to say something but quickly closed it. Tom could now see how flustered her face had become. She released her hand from his grip to fan herself as she loudly cleared her throat.

“I’ll have you know I have absolutely no interest in the Prince for… personal reasons.” She glanced at him before looking down at her dark green gown. “But I must join as any other proper lady of my age and status should.” She concluded and started walking away from him, perhaps too upset that he was aware of her ‘secret’ identity to even say goodbye to her unknown dance partner.

Tom couldn’t help but find it amusing. Most of the people that would join would do it either by family and peer pressure or out of greediness for the seat next to the throne. He didn’t expect any less, from the Slytherin District at least. Tom was aware of how his people thought. Unlike his father and that fool Dumbledore, he knew that their goal wouldn’t necessarily be to woo the Prince because they desired him for who he was but for the title and status that came with him.

And that thought didn’t bother him at all. In fact it made him glad to know that he was once again right. The candidates were after the materials and titles that came with him not after the silly ‘true love’ that Dumbledore used to blabber about. All this talk about love Dumbledore used to give him, was once more shut down by the facts of human nature and society itself.

There was no love in this game.

 Still, Tom felt his heart tighten weirdly in his chest as he caught the glimpse of a familiar red tailcoat passing by.

                                                                                                                ********

 

Harry had somehow managed to take the paper with the riddle back after countless protests from both Ginny and Ron. Thankfully Hermione was there to remind them that they weren’t allowed to help him solve the riddle even though Harry would like them to, since he apparently sucked at solving it.

He had stepped away from the group in an attempt to concentrate, but it didn’t do any good. Around him small groups of people and lone individuals started taking their leave from the dance hall after solving the riddle and Harry found himself cursing under his breath. He didn’t want to do it in the first place. If it were up to him he would never join. He had only agreed to do it because everyone else seemed to be into it.

Even in his own freedom he had found himself doing things to amuse others. He should really stop listening to everything people said.

“Having trouble I see. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

The smooth voice startled him and made Harry turn himself around so quickly he almost fell over, if not for the pair of surprisingly strong arms that caught him and put him back in his place. Great. Looking like an idiot in front of this particular guy was exactly what Harry wanted.

The tall boy greeted him with a smile that could be considered charming had Harry not known the person’s true nature. That nature of course was, being a complete prick. Now, with that knowledge in mind it just looked sinister and somehow cocky. Harry was sure the other had come just to humiliate him some more.

“I’m not having trouble.” That was a lie “and I can handle things on my own, I’m not a damsel in distress.” Another lie, well half a lie. He was in no way a damsel but he was definetely in distress. In much distress actually.

“So I assume you don’t need any help?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. His lips turning into a slight snarl. Help? What a joke. That man had no real intention of being any help, he’d only try to sabotage him for his own amusement.

“You’d offer your precious help to a peasant that should be crawling at the floor?” he tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible, to contrast the harsh words that came out of his mouth.

The other seemed shaken by his words and looked at him with an unreadable expression on his unfairly handsome face. Harry could see his eyes sparkling with what seemed like excitement, which Harry couldn’t understand where it was coming from. There was hardly anything exciting about loathing someone. But he also noticed the downturn curve of his lips that indicated the other boy was not pleased with what he heard. Good.

“I’m afraid we started on the wrong foot here… I didn’t mean to-“

“No you did mean to insult me, you meant every single word sir. I can’t possibly ignore your gross behavior. You are really arrogant Mr.…” Harry cut himself off, realizing he had no idea what the name of the irritating stranger was. And wasn’t that just infuriating.

Harry’s anger seemed to please the boy in front of him, for reasons that he would rather not know. Honestly this stranger seemed to get even more bizarre every time they interacted. Something about him was definetely off.

“I see that you find me infuriating…” well that much was pretty obvious “… and I am honestly saddened by that…” what a bunch of lies “…but please allow me to at least introduce myself properly.”

To Harry’s surprise he took a step back and bowed to him, leaving him at a loss for words and a gaping mouth. There was definetely something wrong with this guy.

“Lord Marvolo Voldemort, I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you Mister…” at that the boy raised slightly one of his well-shaped brows , his hand motioning to Harry’s figure, as if daring him to quickly introduce himself too.

“That’s a rather unusual name… I’ve never heard of a Lord Voldemort before.” Not that Harry knew that many Lords, he barely knew any people, let alone influential and rich enough to be called Lords, but the name Voldemort sure struck him as peculiar.

The boy simply smiled at that, he looked amused by Harry’s little attempt at questioning him. Harry could tell that normally people didn’t question anything about the man, as he didn’t seem accustomed to being doubted like that. Too bad that Harry begged to differ.

“I am not surprised you haven’t heard of me, my family is from France, I moved here a few weeks ago.”

A foreigner Lord? That did make sense. Harry could picture an old powerful French family having an absurd name like ‘Voldemort’. The boy didn’t seem to have any particular accent but Harry couldn’t find a reason for him to lie about who he was. Unlike him, others didn’t have to hide from their deranged relatives in fear of getting locked in a cupboard for the rest of their lives.

“I see…that might be why I was not aware of you.” He said and extended his arm, wanting to test if the other would actually shake it.

“Harrison James Peters, taking no actual pleasure in meeting you again if I’m being honest.” he said cheerfully and watched with glee as the boy’s expression changed from a small smile to a frown. That was a win in his book.

Surprisingly that other did reach and shake his hand, his grip incredibly strong, and his palm squishing Harry’s fingers hard. Harry pulled his hand away quickly, the thought of the other crashing his fingers flashing before his eyes. Voldemort raised an eyebrow at him, taking an innocent expression on his face as if he hadn’t just tried to crash Harry’s hand.

“I am sorry, was my grip too strong?” he said with ‘concerned’ expression, but Harry could easily distinguish the tone of mocking in his voice.

“No, no don’t worry yourself, I didn’t feel a thing.” He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he could hurt him. It was time to get away from the prick and back to his new-found friends.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go back to my friends.” he said and went to walk away when he felt a hand grab his shoulder, keeping him in place.

“I’ll walk you to them.”

Harry was starting to get more and more pissed with this Volde-whatever guy.

“I can find them on my own, no need for your help, I won’t get lost.” he pushed the other’s hand away and went to walk away.

 “Are you sure? You seem like someone who’d get easily lost in a place like this.”

The tone of pure mockery in his voice made Harry want to turn around and strike him between his eyes but he held back. He hadn’t been at a palace before but even he could tell that fistfights were probably off-limits in royal grounds. He opened his mouth to externalize these thoughts of his when Marvolo cut him off again.

“I assume you have also solved the riddle since you are walking back to your friends. It was a quite simple one really.”

Harry felt his eyebrows form a deep scowl on his face, thankfully they were mostly covered by the mask he was wearing. He hadn’t solved the fricking riddle yet. He was extremely bad at it but he knew that already. Harry didn’t need this tosser to remind him how easy it actually was. Wait…

“You’ve seen the riddle too? So you are also joining this weird treasure-hunt game? Seriously?” Harry could almost burst out in laughter. Who would believe that a Lord like that would play along to something like this? The man seemed like he could walk up to anyone and get them to marry him if he wanted. Then again, the man did seem vain enough to want to be royalty. He let out a chuckle before he could stop himself.

“I indeed saw the riddle yes. And I am taking part in this ‘weird’ game as you say. I don’t see what’s so particularly funny about me joining.” Marvolo’s voice sounded colder than before, the look in his grey blue eyes had hardened. It seemed like the man wasn’t fond of people questioning or judging his actions. Harry decided to take it a step further. He had just started to enjoy himself.

“Is Lord Voldemort that desperate for a man that he has to join a game to get one?”

Harry regretted these words the second they were out of his mouth. He couldn’t take them back now. Maybe he had gone too far with his fun. Well shit.

He expected the man to get flustered, yell at him even punch him in the face for his audacity to speak such words to him but the Lord Marvolo Volde-who cares seemed to surprise him once again. Instead of throwing a fit, the man let out a loud chuckle that made Harry flinch a little and granted Harry a smile. It wasn’t a kind smile, but not necessarily dangerous either.

“Not really no, I assure you I can easily find me a partner if I wished. I merely joined out of curiosity.” There was a weird glint in the man’s eyes as he spoke and looked at Harry’s form. A smirk appeared on his lips.

“Are you desperate for a man Mr. Peters?”

Now it was Harry’s turn to get flustered. He felt the heat reach his face and settle there, as embarrassment flew through his veins. He was at that time very thankful for the mask that hang on his face, covering his blush. The smirk on Marvolo turned wider, making Harry hate the man just a little more. He was playing with him again. Humiliating him again. His embarrassment quickly turned into anger. What was he even embarrassed about, he was forced into this, and the least he wanted was a bratty prince, lack of freedom and a ton of responsibilities.

He cleared his throat, letting his sweaty palms open from the firsts they had been forming, he hadn’t even realized, and flashed Marvolo the best smile he could form at the moment.

“No, I also joined out of curiosity and to pass my time here. I find events like these quite boring.” More like waste his time here. He should be eating and drinking luxurious delicacies, not wandering around the castle solving riddles and looking for clues as if he was Hercule Poirot.

“Then it seems like we are both quite curious in nature, and we both despise useless events such as these…It seems my dear Harrison that we have a lot in common.” Marvolo smiled at him again, and this time he seemed genuine.

The glint in his eyes had relatively softened, making the man even more handsome, if that was even possible. Even with 30% of his face covered behind the mask, Marvolo was still one of the most beautiful people Harry had seen. He also noticed that the man had called him by his first name, adding a ‘dear’ in front of it too. Harry felt the heat coming back to his face.

“I guess we do…” was all Harry managed to breathe out.

Being around this Lord turned out to be more difficult than he had originally thought. The man was rude in his own way, arrogant and with a quick temper but at the same time he was well-spoken, sarcastic enough to match Harry’s level and last but not least had the face of an angel and a smile that made breathing around him difficult. Harry concluded that a man like that was extremely dangerous to be around. He needed to go before he said or did anything stupid.

“W-well that was an awkward conversation that I’m sure we all enjoyed but I really have to go back to my company.” He cursed the stuttering and the way his voice wavered a little.

“Have you solve-“

Before Marvolo could finish his sentence Harry was already on the move. He bowed his head slightly, muttering a half-baked goodbye and started striding away from the dangerous for his health and temper man as quick as he could. He had only taken a few steps, when a hand came and grabbed his upper arm stopping him in his tracks. Harry almost let out a loud groan. Why wouldn’t he just let him leave?

Harry tried pulling his arm away, but instead he was tagged closer to the other man, almost colliding with his chest. His mind went blurry for a second, only to clear quickly leaving him with a gaping mouth and the thought that they were causing a scene and everyone was definetely looking at them ringing in his brain. Harry hated feeling eyes on him, it made him so uncomfortable he wanted nothing more than push Marvolo away from him. But before he even got the chance to protest, Marvolo leaned closer to his ear, making Harry gasp lightly.

“I am aware of all your secrets, even those you never tell…” the man muttered, his smooth voice ringing through Harry’s mind.

Harry’s body had stiffened as soon as he started whispering. The memory of a wrinkled piece of parchment that was now located in Harry’s pocket flashed through his mind _._ He we repeating the riddle to him.

“You want me locked away, so I can never share…what am I?” the last part was dragged out, Marvolo’s voice sending shivers onto Harry’s spine.

As he finished his sentence, Marvolo took a step back, realizing Harry’s arm from his firm grip. Harry stayed unmoved for a while before blinking away his shock. He focused his eyes on Marvolo, hoping he could indicate with his eyes how lost and angry he felt. Apparently his gaze did nothing because the other had a shit-eating grin on his face, like he hadn’t just whispered in a stranger’s ear. The urge to turn to violence started babbling inside Harry again.

“So? Have you figured out yet Harrison?” Marvolo said as he continued smiling annoyingly. Oh what would Harry do to wipe that grin off this wankers face? An idea came to his mind, and he grinned before he could control his facial expression. He looked Marvolo straight into the eyes, his stare as intense as possible.

“…A stalker.” he said as flat as he could.

“Corr-…What???”

Harry couldn’t help but let out an ugly laugh at the sight of Marvolo’s smiling face falling into a disappointed expression. He was sure he’d savor that memory forever. But jokes aside, he needed to think what it was. He couldn’t go back to the others empty handed, he really liked them all and didn’t wish to lose their company that early.

_Someone that knows secrets…even unspoken ones…that we lock away…deep secrets. Someone like –_

Now Harry was the one with the shit-eating grin on his face. It really was too simple, getting anxious over it made him blind to the answer. He turned his attention to Marvolo, who still looked so pissed and disappointed in Harry that he could match Uncle Vernon in how much he loathed him right now.

“I solved it.”

“I swear to Slytherin himself Harrison Peters, if you say something stupid again I’ll-.”  Harry decided to cut him off.

“A diary.”

Marvolo shut his mouth closed and Harry smirked. Bingo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha...this is such a short update I'm sorry! I planned on making it longer but I have my finals this and the next month so I had 0 time to write anything cause I needed to study and I wanted to upload something. So I probably won't post anything until June is over and my exams are done (and I am still alive). I'm having way too much fun with this fic I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!  
> My tumblr is @arrogant-slytherin-boy !  
> I do not own Harry Potter at all, all rights go to JKR.


	5. Searching, searching...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This once more took longer than expected but life has been a bitch to me the past few weeks so pls excuse me.

“A diary? That sounds really personal, why would the prince want people to find it? ”

“Are you sure it’s that mate?”

“Maybe you made a mistake Harry…”

That wasn’t the reaction he was hoping to get. Sure, it did seem pretty weird to put such an item in a treasure hunt but Harry was sure he was right. The riddle couldn’t possibly be talking about anything else, and even that tosser Vol- Marvolo had seemed pleased with his answer so it must be right. He was about to defend his opinion when the man standing a tad too close next to him spoke first.

“The answer is correct. It can’t be anything else, as to why the prince choose such a personal item, I think it’s safe to say that he wanted whoever found it to learn more about him,it is a game about winning his affection after all.”

Harry looked at Marvolo, a small smile forming on his lips. Who knew he’d have support from the holier-than-thou Lord. Still kind of unbelievable that the snarky Lord would stand up for Harry, or anyone else really. Although…now that he thinks about it, he is also standing up for his own opinion. After all Marvolo also thinks the answer to the riddle is a diary.

Harry’s smile fell. Of course.

“So I believe we should focus on finding the item instead of seating around questioning Mr. Peter’s intelligence.”  Marvolo concluded and sent a dry smile at the rest of the company, who had formed almost a kind of circle around the two boys and were currently glaring at Marvolo. Well apart from Luna who was watching both of them with her kind yet kind of loony eyes.

 _More like don’t question his intelligence…_ Harry thought and felt the urge to roll his eyes. He did have a point though. They should start looking around if they ever wanted to find that diary, before anyone else. Not that Harry cared, but walking around, exploring the castle grounds with a bunch of friends, and well, Marvolo, sounded like fun.

Hermione seemed to be the first to recover from Marvolo’s rumbling, as she cleared her throat and addressed everyone on the circle, making a point by avoiding to look at the French Lord’s smirking face. The both of them had a rocky first introduction with Marvolo questioning her heritage and Hermione being baffled by his arrogance. Their intellectual banter had started as soon as they met too.

“So we all agree that it’s a diary…” She glanced at Harry and continued “Before we start we need to think where an item like that would be located. It can’t be at any random place in the castle. We just need to think.” She said and pulled one of her stray locks behind her ear, before staring around the circle.

“Any ideas?”

The six people in the circle looked at each other impatiently, waiting for one of them to come up with a good enough idea that they could potentially follow. Harry’s eyes unintentionally fell on Marvolo only to find him looking at his nails with an obvious disinterest expression behind his mask. It seemed like the genius Lord Voldemort didn’t feel like sharing any of his ideas with them.

 Which left Harry confused since Marvolo looked like the type of person who’d take leadership immediately in this kind of situation. Maybe he didn’t understand him as well as he thought he did.

Surprisingly, or not that surprisingly really, Luna was the first one to speak. The small flowers on her hair bouncing as she spoke, her eyes still having that dreamy fog inside of them even though she looked more focused than usual.

”If it’s something so personal shouldn’t it be in the prince’s bedroom? I hide my collection of Picrilla feathers in my room, they are very rare so the collection is very personal to me. So I think it would make sense for the diary to be there.”

Harry was in the middle of asking what in Gryffindor’s name a ‘Picrilla’ was when Marvolo decided to grace them with his arrogant voice again. He looked at Luna with a seemingly pleasant expression but Harry could feel the sarcasm and arrogance in the air. It was slightly angering having the Lord Voldemort look down at someone as friendly as her but it definetely did fit the ‘asshole’ part of his character, which Harry found himself forgetting.

No matter how charming that guy was, he was still a pompous ass and Harry had to make sure to remember that.

“ Even though that idea does make sense, I am afraid that entering the room would be impossible in this case  Mrs. Lovegood, seeing as the prince’s champers are off limits for us. I might also add that Picrilla is a mythological creature…therefore not real.”

“I’m pretty sure Luna knew that already.” Harry couldn’t help but snide in, earning a high raised eyebrow and an amused smirk by Marvolo.

“I’m sure she did. I was merely explaining why she was so terribly wrong.” He said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. He was making it really hard for Harry to keep his temper at check. Without even realizing it he had clenched his fists ready to strike if provoked again.

“You…”

“Why don’t we just ask the game master guys? Aren’t they supposed to give us hints or something?” Ron said and gave a poignant look at Harry, giving him a small wink before turning his attention to the rest of their group.

Harry was very thankful that Ron intervened because he was sure if he hadn’t walked between them he’d go into a downward spiral of throwing insult after insult at Marvolo and the cycle would continue. He let his fists relax and let out a shaky breath, unclenching his jaw. Marvolo knew how to get to him, and apparently that wanker enjoyed watching Harry lose it.

_Deep breath, if you stand the Dursley’s you can stand him too._

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go ask those guys in robes and get the hunting started.”  Ginny said and immediately locked her gaze with Marvolo’s daring him to question her.

She had been on Luna’s side the second Marvolo had started talking to them, eyeing him warily. By the time he started making remarks about Luna, her eyes hardened, brewing with anger and she got her arm strongly entangled with her fiancé’s.

Harry wasn’t sure if it was a gesture of protection towards Luna or if Luna had to hold Ginny’s hand to keep her from punching Lord ‘Vile’demort square in the face. Harry would give everything he owned to watch an event like this unfold in front of him. Which to say the truth wasn’t much. Harry didn’t have anything to his name.

“… Which is why I think it’s a bad idea.”

Harry tuned in the conversation again, this time Hermione was the one talking, everyone’s attention focused solely on her. She had crossed her arms and looked ready to scold and shout at anyone disagreed with her. She reminded Harry of Dudley when his parents told him no. Which rarely happened. Then again comparing Miss Granger to his idiot cousin seemed cruel and unfair for her.

“I suspect that they are here to throw people off, they look too shady to be actual helpers.” She concluded and pointed discreetly at one of the black hood figures that was walking by.

Marvolo of course lost no time to go against her, Harry felt the urge to grab him and tell him to stop if he valued his life but he didn’t think that would shake the Frenchman at all. Seriously did this man ever stop arguing over what he thought was right?

“We have no proof of that, besides there is no reason for us to doubt the sincerity of the game or the King for that matter.” He made a pause and smirked, his eyes never leaving Hermione.

“…Or are you perhaps implying that we should doubt him Miss Granger?”

Hermione looked ready to burst into flames of pure anger. Being called names was one thing but being accused of doubting the King of her own country was something that apparently crossed the line for her. Harry could sense the danger of homicide from miles away. Even though he was the one bantering with Marvolo mere seconds ago he couldn’t allow this to get any further. So Harry stepped in.

“I think we should just split up and look around. We know what we are looking for, well, um...sort of, but we don’t have any clues for its whereabouts…”

“Which is why we should ask the-“Marvolo cut in but Harry had already risen his voice a tad higher than him, ignoring his input and continuing his thought.

“I don’t think we should ask for hints, there is a high chance they’ll be misleading, sorry Ron, but I agree with Hermione.”  He said and gave an apologetic smile at the direction of the ginger boy, getting a lazy shrug and an “I just threw in an idea.” for an answer.

“So we are two to one huh, it looks like I’ve lost this debate.”  Marvolo said, sighing and rushed a hand through his brown locks, that Harry definetely did not follow with his eyes, thank you very much.

“It appears so.” Was Hermione’s cold reply before her face softened when she turned to the rest of the group, a slightly smug smile spread across her face. She really hoped she had made the right decision.

“So we are going to split up and search for Nargles and the diary?” Luna’s soft voice floated inside the circle of people. Marvolo’s scoff was heard right after but this time he decided it was best to not speak and question what Luna meant. Ginny’s intense glare may or may not have contributed to his uncharacteristic silence.

“It appears so…though in mystery novels splitting up never really works in anyone’s favor.” Ron muttered and scowled slightly, taking on an intense thinking face.

 Harry couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by that. He hadn’t read any mystery novels as no one in the house was interested in them. To be bluntly clear Harry did not have the best relationship with books. Not that he disliked them, quite the opposite really, he just never found time to read them. And when he did have time he couldn’t find anything interesting to read. Dudley hated books and his Uncle’s and Aunt’s were about wars, engineering or cooking and grossly texted romance. That didn’t give Harry a lot of reading options, so he was curious as to what happens at mystery novels.

Just as he was about to ask the know-it-all of the group, to be more specific the insufferable one of the group spoke up.

“I’ll agree with Weasley here, someone almost always dies in these kind of situations.” Marvolo said and sent a wink at Harry’s direction, leaving him with a gaping mouth. What kind of implication was that? That he was the one going to die? Harry decided to not let whatever that was slide.

“Well then let’s hope it’s none of us, you of course being an exception since we practically didn’t ask you to join us.”

“How cruel.”

 

***

They decided to split up in three teams. Granger with Weasley who Tom later found out were engaged, the Weasley girl that Tom could tell hated his guts (though really the feeling was mutual) with Lovegood and that left him teaming up with dear Harrison. At least he could entertain himself by teasing him for the rest of the night.

Tom didn’t believe they’d be able to figure out not to trust his followers, at least that early on. He was quite surprised that both Harrison and Granger were so hostile towards them. Maybe he should have gone with a different outfit design, a less sinister one.

“Hey! Are you even going to search or did you just join in the hunt to watch the rest of us filthy mortals suffer?” came an irritated voice from his right.

Harrison’s voice brought him back to reality. Right search for a diary. His own diary. The one that was currently safe and sound in his inside pocket. Honestly, they couldn’t possibly think that he would make it possible for any of them to find it, it was too precious to be touched by anyone else’s hands.

His gaze fell on Harrison, his small figure bend over a big stack of books that he had been searching, surrounded by four other equally large stacks. His hair were messier after he had run his hands through them countless times since they got started. His brows were continuously furrowed as his searches had been futile, a small pout at the end of his lips every time he pulled out a random book.

Well, maybe someone else could find that diary of his after all.

 “I suggest we go to another room and search there, the castle, from what I’ve heard at least , has over 20 libraries at its possession.”  He said and walked closer, picking up scattered books that were left on the floor and placing them back on their respected shelves. If it were his personal library he wouldn’t have taken the aimless scattering of old books so lightly but as this was just a guest entertainment room he did not mind as much. The fact that he found the person that was scattering them fascinating may or may not have played a role in that.

“We’ve already searched four huge rooms full of books...let’s just call it a day for now, it’s not like either of us care for the price.” Harrison groaned out and stood up from his hunched down position, stretching his back as he stood. He did look tired but Tom decided at that exact moment that Harrison should be the one to find his diary tonight even if he’d have to slip in into his pocket. But first…

“Say Harrison… what district are you from?”

Harrison raised an eyebrow at him before speaking.

“Why do you ask?”

“Mere curiosity, as I said I’m new here so I’ve only met people from the Slytherin district and was wondering what people from other districts’ were like.” He said and smiled as innocently as he could. The idea of a foreigner Lord had worked marvelously so far, it made it much easier to extract information about Harrison’s life. Though the boy continued being quite lip-tight about his personal life and family. Tom didn’t think it would be that hard to make him speak.

“I see…well I am from the Gryffindor district just like Ron, Hermione and Ginny.” he answered and picked up a random book, putting it back on a random self.

“I should have guessed.” He really should have. He made a note in his mind to look for any information about the Peters family at Gryffindor District. He clapped his hands together, earning a gasp from Harrison who in turn glared at him.

“Now then! We promised to the other’s we’ll search, so let’s just go to another room and if we don’t find any luck there either we give up.” He said and placed the last book back to its place before turning to face Harrison, who stared at him with a small smirk on his lips.

“Are you that desperate for a man Lord Voldy?” he asked, a small chuckle following his words. Tom could feel some sort of heat raising to his cheeks. Why did he want to spend more time with this person again?

“As I previously stated, no I am not. I am merely joining for the fun of it, and stop calling me that. My surname is not something you should laugh about.” He said and gave Harrison a hard stare, indicating he should really stop mocking him if he wanted to have any chance of being with the Prince. Harrison merely rolled his eyes as a response, the sly smirk never leaving his face. He started retrieving away from him, walking towards the door, ready to run off. Tom couldn’t tell if his behavior amused him or irritated him.

Just as Harrison was about to open the door and run off to Slytherin knows where, it slammed open, a group of four people walking inside. They looked like a family , consisted of two men and two women, a couple and their teenager kids, all of them wearing fancy and seemingly expensive clothes along with a pissed off expression behind their masks.

It didn’t take long for Tom to realize why they were as upset as one of the men of the group, he assumed it was the father, grabbed Harrison by the shoulders, shook him and rudely demanded to know if he had found the diary, mumbling under his breath about getting lied to by those “ freaks in black”. Harrison just blinked at him, not knowing how to respond, seemingly taken aback by the situation but Tom was having none of it. Rudely touching someone the Prince thought worth talking too was a one way ticket to the castle’s dungeons.

He found himself at Harrison’s side in seconds, pushing the uncouth man away from him with enough strength to make him fall down and taking Harrison’s hand into his, an action that caused a surprised gasp to escape the other boy’s mouth. Tom turned to the man, his glare piercing through the man’s skull.  

“I suggest you keep your hands to yourself monsieur, if you want them to continue being attached to your body.”  He sneered. “Take this as a mere warning: One more toe out of line and we’ll immediately report your behavior to the King, for the sake of your family’s integrity and safety I’d listen to this kind warning.” He concluded, his sneering expression turning into a sinister smile.

The man had backed away by now, getting held in place by his distressed wife who was trying to calm him down. Tom wished he didn’t wear a mask so he could see who that was foolish enough to cause such a scene. Not that it mattered really. He was going to find out who it was sooner or later, and when he did he would properly destroy him and his worthless little family.

With a light nod towards the stunned family, he turned on his heel and walked out, dragging Harrison by the hand behind him. He hadn’t noticed before due to his anger but Harrison’s hands felt rougher and more calloused than expected. Definetely not that kind of hands you’d think someone from a well-off family would have. What did the Peters family do again? Had he even asked?

They walked for a few minutes like this, hand in hand, before Harrison ruined the moment by aggressively pulling his hand away and staying in place. Tom turned around, a perfectly raised eyebrow raised at the boy in front of him. Harrison’s unusually green eyes shone brighter than before, a flick of anger inside of them.

“You didn’t have to threaten him! Especially in front of his wife and children, that was foul of you!” he said, his voice getting louder as he spoke, a scowl planted on his face.

“And the fact that he treated you like a puppet wasn’t foul? I merely warned him, these kind of behaviors are unacceptable. Besides I stood up for you, the least you can do is be thankful.” Tom barked back. He disliked having to raise his voice in public, as that would damage his image, but around Harrison he found it difficult to control himself. Why couldn’t he understand that Tom did that for him?

“Be thankful? I don’t need you or anyone else to stand up for me! And if you really think you are any better than that rude man then think again Marvolo.”  He said and run a hand through his hair, his scowl deepening, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as if he was debating something in his mind.

Tom could feel like he would burst any minute so he tried to sound a bit apologetic to calm him down. He couldn’t waste an opportunity like this because Harrison was a tad sensitive towards threats.

“Harrison listen, I know my method was not the best but-“

“I’ll go continue the search on my own, do not follow me.”

And with that he turned around and walked away, leaving a stunned Tom standing alone in the corridor.

 

***

He kept walking down the hallway not knowing where he went, not really caring either. His fists were curled up in anger, his nails digging into his palms. He knew he was right to be angry yet the lost expression of Marvolo wouldn’t leave his mind. He really shouldn’t be feeling bad for that wanker but his empathy made it difficult to stay mad.

After a few minutes of aimless walking and debating in his own head about turning back and making amends with Marvolo he decided to follow his own advice and search some more for that bloody diary that got everyone in a frenzy.

He walked in at the first big door that he saw, regretting it as soon as he stepped in.

The room was bigger than any other room he and Marvolo had searched thus far, it had large bookcases with endless shelves fully stacked with books and other artifacts, a pair of large green chairs along with a giant desk made from ebony and an equally large fireplace. But its size wasn’t the only thing that made Harry regret coming in.

What really made him want to go back out where the two black figures that were standing behind one of the bookcases. It looked like they were shoving books left and right, maniacally searching for something, moving as fast as they could, with little to no noise. Harry’s mind decided that he wanted nothing to do with the situation but his body didn’t take the cue. Instead of walking away as his mind told him, he jumped behind a chair, hiding himself from the two figures.

As soon as he hid behind the chair the ruffling of books came to a stop. Harry held his breath. It was just his luck to find the two most suspicious people in a whole damn castle.

“Did you hear anything? I thought I heard someone walk in.” said one of them his voice so low it was hard to hear but Harry came to the conclusion it belonged to a male.

“No, I didn’t hear anything and now hurry, the sooner we find it the better.” whispered the other, which Harry also realized belonged to a man, and with a light pause the shuffling continued.

Harry suddenly felt paranoid. Why was he even hiding from them? These men were most likely searching for the diary just as he was. He thought the best thing he could now was reveal himself and hope for the best, he had already been attacked by another participant but he could handle himself.

Just as he was about to stand up one of them spoke again.

“They are not here Moony! The bastard must have them on him.” came the aggravated voice of the man.

“No. I know that look. We are not going to attack the King, calm down Padfoot.”  The other man said and you could hear the tiredness in his voice.

“We can always try.”

Harry was pretty sure that they weren’t searching for the diary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo new characters are coming in~ wonder what they were looking for...
> 
> I am still somehow alive!! My exams are over and I am in summer break mode now so I will be able to post more often and make the chapters a tad bit longer. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and as always I love hearing your thoughts and ideas about the story so please feel free to comment them!  
> My tumblr is : arrogant-slytherin-boy if you wanna message me there about the fic or simply to say hi.
> 
> I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this work, they belong to JKR .


	6. Diary shenanigans

He didn’t expect to get that irritated, but he did.

Why was he even continuing to have these people in his ranks was a question he kept asking himself a lot the past few days. He kept trying to find something positive about them, to remind himself why he kept them around but nothing came in mind. They were as incompetent as the castle servants if not worse.

“I am sorry my Lord, we haven’t located the boy yet.”

 Tom felt a headache coming up.

“Why in the four districts of Hogwarts can you not find a single person in my own castle? You are all supposed to know every corner of this place and its grounds by heart! I expected better from you Rabastan.” He yelled at the black dressed figure that was kneeling in front of him.

“My Lord, you are absolutely right, there is no excuse but please give us more time. We’ll be sure to find the boy.”

Tom suppressed the urge to kick the man in front of him. It wouldn’t do any good, though it would help him release some of his anger. He couldn’t believe Harrison had disappeared from his sight so quickly. It was like the boy had become smoke and spread throughout the castle. Tom could feel him around him in the castle but he couldn’t see him anywhere.

Harrison had left him standing in that corridor feeling so confused and upset, as if he was a five year old kid who got denied candy before dinner. Tom hadn’t felt like that in a long time and was beyond surprised that a mere stranger – an interesting one, but still a stranger – could make him feel so lost and dare he admit, hurt.

That feeling of loss soon turned into anger when Tom was unable to find Harrison in the nearby rooms of the castle. He gave up the useless search on his own and gathered some of his followers to search instead. They, as he understood thus far at least, had the same luck in finding him as he did, which was to say they couldn’t find him anywhere.

Tom stopped his obsessive walking, up and down the room - when had he even began to walk – to stare at Rabastan that was still kneeled in front of him, his mask left on the ground next to him. There was no need for secrecy in this room after all and Tom wanted to see the terrified look on his followers face when he learned how much he had displeased his Lord. He noticed the man shivering under his gaze, a cruel smirk appearing automatically on his face.

Even though Rabastan’s fear pleased him to an extent he still couldn’t let go of the horrid feeling that Harrison left behind him. It hang onto him, leaving a bad taste in his mouth, Harrison’s words repeating themselves in his mind. Tom started to feel like the emotion wouldn’t go away any time soon.

The door knocked three times before Lucious walked in and bowed, deeply enough that his long blond hair touched the ground. Tom felt a new wave of hope hit him at the sight of one of his most trusted followers, but he suppressed it with a scowl. He couldn’t allow himself to feel relieved without listening to the news Lucius brought first.

“My Lord.” the man greeted, his head still bowed down.

“Yes Lucius it is I, tell me about the search now.”  Tom knew he sounded inpatient but that was the last thing on his mind now. It’s not like any of them would dare to question him or his actions.

The man raised slowly his head, the expression on his face already sucking away all the hope Tom felt when his follower stepped into the room. He didn’t even need to listen to whatever Lucius had to say, he knew they hadn’t found him. He felt his rage returning, the back of his neck getting hot with frustration.

The two other men in the room had now their eyes locked on him, waiting and fearing for their Lord’s anger to blow up on them. They knew they would get punished for displeasing him and they would have begged for mercy but they knew better than that. Tom wasn’t merciful, he never was one to stand up for the weak, instead, he loved to crash whoever was beneath him. 

“My Lord please listen…” Lucius started but was quickly cut off by the angered prince.

“Enough! You useless, insolent, mindless fools. Your incompetence has finally reached its peak.” Tom felt his voice getting hoarse with how loud he was yelling. He didn’t care if the whole castle could hear his roars. He had it with the inability of his followers and that annoying emotion that just wouldn’t leave him alone.

“I DON’T KNOW WHY I DONT JUST EXECUTE ALL OF YOU FOR HOW USELESS YOU ALL ARE.”  He roared and fled from the room, leaving behind his two followers stunned and speechless.

He was going to find Harrison on his own even if it took him hours.

***

“I say we go look at another room.”

“And find nothing there too? I told you the wanker has it on him!”

Harry felt like hitting his head against the wall out of frustration. Why was he so unlucky? He just had to be the one to get in the same room with two (possibly) criminals. How fun.

His thoughts travelled back to Marvolo standing alone in the corridor. He had been too harsh on him, even though he really shouldn’t have reacted that way towards that family, but Harry couldn’t help but  feel apologetic towards the French lord that had stood up for him, in his own aggressive way.

Just as he was thinking these thoughts he heard a loud noise from the other side of his hiding spot and curled into himself even more. He wished he was still with the arrogant yet charming lord, searching aroundthe castle, than being stuck in this awkward and unfortunate situation. He didn’t dare to move an inch from his position, not wanting to reveal himself at the two men, and hoped that they would leave soon, hopefully without noticing the hunched random person behind the chair. 

“Sir- Padfoot we should go. We searched everywhere, it’s not here we were mislead to think the King would leave such information laying around.” Came the hushed voice of one of the men, the «Moony» one Harry concluded. His voice was softer that the other’s and he sounded as concerned as Harry felt at that moment.

“Absolutely not! We are only here thanks to Dumbledore, we have to make use of the time he gave us and find the damn papers.” said the other man in a low voice, sounding as inpatient as Harry pictured him to be.

But Harry had stopped listening to the man’s rumbling as soon as he mentioned the familiar sounding name. Dumbledore. The image of the old eccentric sorcerer came to Harry’s mind. Why would the man help these two, clearly suspicious people get inside the palace?  Harry knew that Dumbledore worked for the King so it didn’t make sense for him to side with people who obviously disliked the ruler of Hogwarts.

Was Dumbledore a traitor to the throne? Was he planning on overthrowing the King? That couldn’t be it, it made no sense. After all he knew Harry’s parents and Harry couldn’t imagine them being traitors. Then again, Harry had never met them, so he really shouldn’t be so sure. He felt like he had to interrogate the man the next time he saw him, the pile of questions he wanted to ask getting bigger and bigger.

“I am well aware of how much Dumbledore has done to let us in Padfoot! If it weren’t for him there was no way we could pass the wards of the castle. I am just as grateful as you are but we can’t keep searching.”  The « Moony» man said , and Harry could hear the motion of his hand running down his face.

The man was obviously tired with whatever they were doing. But Harry didn’t focus on that. Instead he got stuck at the word «ward». What did it mean? Was it something guarding the castle? If Dumbledore had anything to do with it Harry concluded it had to be related to sorcery. Were these men sorceress too? 

“Moony I-“

The man named Padfoot never got to finish his sentence as he was immediately shushed by the other man, who seemed to be in a panic, and was told to stay quiet and listen. Harry shut his gaping mouth as well (when had he even opened his mouth?) and started listening in intensely his surroundings.

It didn’t take long to hear what had caused the Moony man to panic. Loud, determined footsteps could be heard outside of the huge room, across the corridor and they were getting closer and closer. Harry couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. He was going to be saved from this unfortunate situation the moment that person walked in and found the two suspicious men, ultimately pulling Harry out of his , might he add, very uncomfortable hiding place.

His eyes were fixated on the door of the large room when the sound of low whispering behind him made him alert to the situation he was in once more. He had been so happy to hear someone approaching that he hadn’t even thought about the possibility of the two men attacking the newcomer

 This possibly suddenly seemed very likely to happen, as the murmuring behind him got louder and the two men could be heard walking closer to the front of the room, closer to the door and Harry’s hiding spot. He sifted his body closer to the back of the chair, hoping that they wouldn’t notice the movement. The murmuring behind him quickly stopped. They apparently had made their decision on what to do with the upcoming stranger.

 Harry’s mind quickly got filled with images of all the ways this could go wrong. He couldn’t allow things to get ugly. The guilt he’d feel if the person, his quote on quote savior, got hurt in any way would be unbearable. Harry knew he had to do something to prevent them from entering the damn room.

The steps came to a stop in front of the door. The two men could be heard breathing steadily a few steps behind him. Harry on the other hand felt his heart beat against his chest like a caged bird that was ready to rip him right open and fly away to its freedom.

It all happened very quickly. So quickly that if you asked Harry later about it he’d tell you that he had barely blinked before it was all over.

The door knob turned as one of the men took a step forward, standing right next to Harry’s hiding spot, his face hidden behind the hood of his cloak. Harry could feel his heartbeat going like crazy. It would only take a moment for things to go wrong.

A small crack could be seen from the door, as the bright light of the corridor shone inside the dimly light room. The other man walked next to his friend, they were both standing there, holding their breaths so close to Harry. He dared to glance at their direction. Two dark eyes met his stare and fear struck him into his bones once more. A hand approached him as if in slow motion but he managed to push his body away.

He opened his mouth to shout, a warning for the person that was outside, a plea to not hurt him but it got muffled by an deafening crack sound right next to his ear,  causing him to lose any sense of sound for a few seconds and only hearing a continuous buzzing sound. The room was filled with light for a mere second before the light disappeared leaving Harry dazed and disoriented.

The two men were gone and the door was wide open, a familiar figure was now standing in front of him. Harry felt his heart flatter in relief when the figure spoke.

“Harrison?”

***

“Harrison? What in Salazar’s name are you doing behind the chair?”

Tom didn’t know what to expect when he was to find Harrison, but that surely was beyond anything he imagined. Harrison in the King’s empty study crawled behind his father’s luxurious chair with an expression his followers got whenever he was irritated was truly something bizarre.

The confused and frightened expression on Harrison’s face only lasted for a few seconds before it turned into relief. Tom tried to ignore the way his heart clenched at Harrison’s relieved expression. He should be furious with the boy for walking away from him yet he couldn’t help feel happy to have found him. For some reason the thought of the boy never talking to him again annoyed him to no end.

Harrison moved from his bend over position, standing up and looking around the room as if searching for something. He looked so lost and confused that Tom would normally avoid asking about his behavior. But nothing was normal about Harrison, so Tom just had to ask.

“What exactly are you searching for?” The question seemed to awaken Harrison from his daze, as if he had forgotten there was another person in the room with him.

Tom watched as he took a few glances around him before furrowing his brows and taking a few steps towards him. Tom could tell that something was troubling him but could not for the life of him understand what. He decided that the entire situation was simply strange. Then Harrison decided to speak.

“Two men…there were here a few seconds ago, they were wearing cloaks….” He said and started searching the room with his eyes once more, as if he expected to see them hiding behind a bookcase. Tom had way more questions than answers now.

“What men? There is no one here besides us two Harrison.” He said and to prove his point gestured with his hands at the obviously empty room. That didn’t seem to be enough evidence to Harrison as he kept his maniac searching. Tom started to wonder about the amount of sanity the person in front of him carried.

“But I saw them! They were here, I swear, I…”

Tom was reaching his breaking point with this nonsense. He was starting to think that all this was supposed to be a ploy to make him leave Harrison alone again. Well too bad for him because Tom wasn’t planning on leaving.

“No one is here, now let’s drop this nonsense and get back to searching shall we ?” he said and walked to the door, holding it open to indicate that Harrison had no saying in this. They were leaving this room.

“Your little friends must be getting worried, we should meet up with them too.” In all honesty Tom couldn’t care less about these annoying people but Harrison seemed to be weirdly fond of them so he had to play along, as much as he could anyways.

The mention of his friends seemed to have shaken Harrison once again out of his daze. He turned at Tom, his red mask crooked on his sweaty face, allowing Tom to see a peculiar looking scar on his skin just below his hairline. His stare was a mixture of utter disbelief and understanding, something that Tom didn’t understand at all, especially when a hint of a smile appeared on Harrison’s face. Tom could almost call that expression cute. Almost.

“Yeah. Y-you are right Marvolo we should get going, but I want to meet the others first so let’s just head to the ballroom.” He said in a normal tone as if he hadn’t been claiming the existence of two men in an empty room mere seconds ago and with four hops was out of the room leaving yet again a stunned Tom behind. He made sure to follow straight ahead, worried that the boy would just run off again.

He managed to catch up with him at the stairs, his red mask now fixed right on his face, concealing the peculiar scar that Tom noticed earlier. He should ask Harrison about that too but he had way more pressing questions that needed answers.

“So what about the two men?” he asked as they went down the stairs.

“What about them?”

Tom frowned at his uninterested tone.

“You were pretty convinced that they were in the room with us, but now you are acting as if nothing happened. Are you backtracking on that idiotic lie of yours?”

Harrison stopped right on his tracks, having finally reached the end of the staircase, the ballroom being a door away, Tom could already hear the annoying blabber and loud music that was coming from it.

“A lie? Why would I need to make up a lie like that?” He said and turned around, those terribly vivid green eyes staring at him, making his stomach fill with a weird sensation.

“They were there, I just didn’t realize they left before you arrived. There was probably another exit in the room that I didn’t notice.” Tom couldn’t help but scoff at that poor attempt of an explanation. He knew fully well that there wasn’t a second door at that particular room but he couldn’t say it because it would look suspicious. Why Harrison insisted on that ridiculous lie was beyond him.

“I see, so you didn’t just make it up to make me leave you alone, that is a relief to hear.” he said dryly, hoping his sarcasm could be passed along with his words. Now it was Harrison’s turn to frown.

“I am not the kind of person who would make up a lie for that reason Marvolo, if I wanted you to leave me alone I would say so to your pompous face.” He said and pushed a stray hair away from his face, Tom noticed that Harrison’s hair seemed to get wilder the more the night passed. What a truly intriguing person.

Tom opened his mouth to comment on the how the fact that Harrison hadn’t told him to leave him alone meant that he wanted him there but was quickly cut off by the boy.

“And before you get any ideas and inflate your ego more than it already is, I still think the way you handled that man was uncalled for but thanks to-« he cut himself there, biting his bottom lip and looking for a way to finish his sentence.

“Thanks to something I would prefer to be in a group of two, instead of being alone.” He finished and stared at Tom, daring him to ask what that something was.

“Afraid that the men in cloaks will come get you?” Tom smirked as Harrison glared at him. Honestly this nonsense was starting to get quite amusing.

“Shut up and let’s go join the feast, I am starving.” Harrison said and with a sudden twirl he opened the door and entered the ballroom. Tom decided it was better to drop the obscure subject of the two men and focus once again on the main theme of the night. His diary.

“Any luck in finding the Prince’s diary yet?” he asked, his tone raised a bit so Harrison could be able to hear him through the noise but he was too far away heading straight to the buffet.

He apparently wasn’t joking when he said he was starving.

Tom followed him, pushing threw a few people that were standing around blabbering about their day and their fruitless tries to find the diary. When he finally reached Harrison he was already stuffing his plate with food and Tom was left to wonder if it was the first time he was eating in his entire life. He decided to let him eat before he pushed him to go off to searching again.

 The orchestra had starting playing more commonly known pieces, and the dancefloor was as crowded as it could get. Tom wouldn’t say no to a lovely minuet right now, his glance falling on the boy next to him which was currently stuffing his face with tattle tart. Tom snorted.

His disapproving snort earned him a glare from Harrison who seemed to be almost finished with his savaging on the party’s buffet. That gave Tom an opening to ask again.

"Did you find the diary?" 

“No, did you?” Harrison managed to say through the food in his mouth. Tom couldn’t help the need to scold him for talking with his mouth full.

“No I didn’t find it either. After you left me to stand alone in that corridor-“At that Harrison rolled his eyes “I came back here to enjoy the rest of the night.” he concluded.

“Really? Because it looked like you were searching for me.” Harrison said and Tom could feel his neck and ears heat up.

“Nonsense. I was merely making walks around after I got bored here.”  Tom avoided looking at Harrison’s direction but he knew that there was a smug grin on his face. Prick.

The music coming from the orchestra started getting more vivid and Tom couldn’t help but tap his foot to the beat. It was quite embarrassing but he felt better once he noticed Harrison humming along. He felt like he needed a dance right now.

“Dance with me.” he said simply as he looked at Harrison, his face having a puzzled expression.

“Wait…what?”

“I asked if you want to dance.” he said again and smiled as he saw Harrison’s ears getting red. What an interesting reaction.

“The real question is if you want to continue having toes after this.”

“I think I’ll take the risk.” Tom extended his hand to Harrison.

“Shall we?”

***

Harry could honestly not understand how he got into this situation. Almost an hour ago he was cursing this man and now here was asking him oh so casually to dance minuet with him. He was about to say that he really had no idea how to dance when he spotted something, or more accurately someone in the crowd heading towards the buffet.

Different alerts went off at the same time in Harry’s head as he tried to find an exit and escape from the ballroom before his humongous cousin managed to get to the bouffe. He pushed Marvolo’s hand away and with a way more panicked voice than he’d like to excused himself to go the restroom.

He fled from the room as fast as he could, exiting from the first door he saw and just kept running, not noticing the footsteps behind him that kept getting closer and closer. He finally reached a door with a sign on it and without further thought stormed in, closing the door behind him.

A few seconds later the door opens again, letting in the room Marvolo, looking out of breath ,  his hair disheveled and having a pissed off expression on his face.

“May- I ask…why…you...left? You…could have just said no.” Marvolo said between his breaths and if Harry wasn’t the same and worse he would have laughed with the French lord. He tried to collect himself before speaking.

“I told you I was going to the restroom, why did you follow me?”

“No one just snaps like that about wanting to go to the bathroom…besides.” Marvolo looks around and then stares at him, a hint of a smile on his lips. “This particular bathroom is for ladies only, which I think I can safely say that neither of us are.”

Harry felt like banging his head against a wall. Of course he’d enter the women’s bathroom. First the two men, Dudley and now this. He was starting to think that coming to the ball wasn’t such a great idea.

“Was it the two men again?” he heard Marvolo’s mocking voice say and got back into reality.

“What? No, no, no it wasn’t that.” he quickly said trying to find a way to cover up his weird behavior. He should have expected that Marvolo would catch up to what was actually going on.

“Then what was it? You looked like your parents just told you they were going to write you off their will.” Marvolo said and casually leaned on a sink, fixing his hair with his hand. Harry hated how cool he looked even in this situation. And write him off their will? Was that Marvolo’s greatest fears? What a prick.

“I told you it wasn’t that I just-“

But before he could finish his sentence the sound of a door opening reached his ears, sending his brain once again into panic mode. Harry didn’t have any time to think, much less react when a strong hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him with force into an empty stall.

Harry was about to yell, well actually whisper , he couldn’t yell under these circumstances , at Marvolo for shoving them both into a freaking toilet but got interrupted by Marvolo’s hand on his mouth, preventing him from talking. Marvolo brought his other hand to his lips and silently shushed him, Harry rolled his eyes but remained quiet.

Silent whimpers and sobs could be heard from the outside and Harry immediately felt sorry for the crying lady. Crying while at a party must be something truly tragic.

The sobs continued for a while, along with mumbled words that Harry couldn’t make out, hearing her cry turned out to be much more annoying that Harry anticipated. Marvolo still hadn’t moved his hand from Harry’s mouth, and even though they were inappropriately close Harry didn’t feel like pushing him away. Marvolo’s hand felt warm against his skin and at the process of breathing out of his nose so close to him Harry now knew that the man smelled of lavender and some type of wood. Was he even real?

A door could be heard to open and close and the annoying sobbing stopped. She had left.

Marvolo quickly pulled his hand away, releasing Harry’s mouth and straightening his stance as much as he could, acting as if he and Harry weren’t mushed against each other. Harry himself didn’t know if the hotness he felt on his face was from anger or embarrassment or both.

“Thank Salazar she left, she was taking forever. Crying her eyes out in a public place, _une ingroble petite salope”_ Marvolo mumbled under his breath the last part and even though it was in what Harry understood as French he could tell it wasn’t something that would complement the crying lady.

“Well it’s our-my fault we are here, it’s not like she knew she had company. Anyways we should go and try to find the others, maybe they found something.” Harry pushed away from Marvolo as far as he could, the stall didn’t really provide much space and went to get out when he felt his foot stepping on a weird surface.

He looked down, and almost gasped out loud at what he saw. On the floor right next to his shoe was a small black book, engraved with the initials T.M.R. Harry quickly picked it up from the ground, elbowing Marvolo on accident and ignoring his grunt.

He opened the first page and looked inside.

“Property of Tom Marvolo Riddle.” Harry read out loud, as a smile started to form on his face. He had actually found the damn thing, unbelievable.

_But what is it doing in a random stall? No one would think to find it here, it makes no sense. Was it even here when we entered? I didn’t see anything…Unless…_

Harry’s smile froze on his face. He turned around to look at Marvolo who had exited the stall and was currently rubbing his stomach area in which Harry had apparently hit him. He wasn’t even sorry.

“Lord Volde-Prick, were you hiding the diary on you all this time?” He said in a low voice as he watched Marvolo’s expression change from pure shock to anger about the uncalled nickname, to smugness. Oh Harry hated him for the last one.

“Well not exactly, I found it while you were gone and thought to hold onto it and-“

“And not tell me that you found it? You really are that desperate for a man huh Voldy.” Harry even though pissed couldn’t hold back the smile that came after the silly nickname. The outraged expression on Marvolo’s face made it even funnier.

“You- I told you I wanted to find because I was curious, I wasn’t going to take it to the King, and no more idiotic alterations of my name.”  Harry shrugged.

“It’s not my fault you have a weird name.” he said teasingly and looked down at the diary “What are going to do with this now?” Harry glanced at Marvolo who once again was leaning against a sink, looking like the tool he was.

“Well I suggest you take it to the King, that’s the point of the game.” Harry frowned at the thought.

“Yes, but I do not think that I’ll enjoy spending time with the Prince of Hogwarts, I can’t imagine me on a tea date with him.” He heard Marvolo chuckle.

“You’d be suprised.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that.

“Why are you saying that? Have you met him?”

“No but I heard he is a lovely gentleman, very handsome too.”

“Well good for him, sounds like a heartbreaker.” Harry said and walked towards the door, holding it open and gesturing with his hand outside.

“Let us go then.”

They both walked back mostly silently, with Marvolo pitching in different date ideas for Harry and the Prince and Harry being on overdrive, making sure to avoid anyone that resembled his relatives. They hadn’t even managed to get close to the middle of the dancefloor when he felt a weird sensation flowing through his body. He stopped right on his tracks making Marvolo bump into him.

“What’s wrong?” came the voice from behind him, and for once Harry could hear a hint of concern in it.

“I don’t know” he admitted. “I just felt strange.”

The sound of the castle’s giant clock sent a shiver down Harry’s spine, and everything clicked. It was time for him to go. Twelve would be soon and all the sorcery would be gone in a flash, leaving him stranded in Slytherin District with no way to go back and dirty clothes. He turned around to face Marvolo, his grey blue eyes following Harry’s movements.

“Look, I know this is sudden but I have to go.” Marvolo goggled his eyes in disbelief.

“What about the King and the diary? We were going to-“Harry cut him off.

“I know but trust me on this one, I really have to leave.” he said and handed him the diary. “Besides I didn’t even want the price, you can have it or give it to some poor girl who would kill to spend a night with a dreamy Prince.” Harry went to turn around but his wrist was once again caught, making him turn around.

“Wait.” Marvolo said in a stern voice before his expression turned softer “Will you come back tomorrow?”

The words took Harry by surprise but he couldn’t help but smile as he heard them.

“I promise.”

Marvolo squeezed his wrist and flashed him a smile.

“It’s a promise then you Lord of the gnomes, you also owe me a dance.”

“Looking forward to it  Lord of the pricks.”

Harry for reasons unknown to him yet felt happy as he quickly exited the castle and entered the carriage that was miraculously waiting for him right on time. At the road, images of the night kept flashing before his eyes, from terrifying black eyes to blue ones looking at him, different emotions twirling into his head.

It had been a magically terrific night and something inside Harry couldn’t wait for more. He owed a dance to someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay another long chapter! hope you guys liked how the first night ended, I wanted to write much more stuff but we have six whole nights to fill with Tom and Harry interactions so I had to hold back a little. ( Tom calls the girl a horrid little bitch in case anyone was wandering )  
> I appreciate every lovely comment and review so please tell me your thoughts on the chapters! Thanks for reading.
> 
> I have also posted some art on my tumblr i case anyone would like to see : @arrogant-slytherin-boy under the "my art" tag!


	7. The day after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /Slight warning/ : This chapter includes some violence by stranguletion, so if you are uncomfortble with that I would advise to read the last part of the chapter with caution or just skip it altogether.

The bright light of the morning sun filled the previously dark bedroom, as the heavy curtains were pushed out of the way, revealing the room to the outside world and vice versa.

A low groan was heard from the large bed, followed by the smooth sounds of silk sheets rubbing against bare skin. The maid that had previously opened the curtains stood at the foot of the bed, her dark eyes stilled on the young Prince, waiting patiently for his commands.

Tom sat up on the bed, his brain still foggy from last night, he might have drunk a bit too much. His eyes fell on the maid in front of him. He could feel his voice was still hoarse from sleep so instead of speaking he waved his hand at her, asking her to dismiss her presence from his room.

The girl made her way out of the room but not before informing him about the fresh set of clothes that were placed on a chair next to his bed and that he should be down for breakfast with the King in fifteen minutes.

Tom couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. He didn’t have to be informed everyday about the same things, he was well aware of his own morning routine. It had been the same since he could remember. The only change in the routine was that he had stopped letting the servants dress him as he found it repulsive to be touched by just anyone.

He stood up after shaking off the drowsiness of sleep and started his daily routine. After finishing his bath , thank Salazar the maid had the intelligence to bring him warm water, he headed back to the bedroom, grabbed the clothes from the chair and started dressing himself in front of the mirror.

He privately noted that the crack on the object wasn’t there anymore. Maybe these good-for-nothing servants weren’t so bad after all. Though the cracked mirror was their fault to begin with.

As he buttoned up the last button of his shirt he looked at his reflection to check if anything was out of place. Everything seemed in order. He examined the red vest he was wearing one last time. Usually the servants would prepare more green colored outfits for him but he couldn’t say he minded the change.

The masked face of a pretty man in red flashed through his brain and a small smile appeared on his face before he could control and suppress it. _No wonder you don’t mind the red_ said a voice in the back of his head and started whispering sweet promises of a shared dance under the moonlight in his left ear.

He allowed himself to be enamored with the idea his mind fabricated for a few minutes. He let himself imagine his hands wrapped around the boy’s waist, both of them moving gracefully across the dance floor under the dim light of the candles and the jealous stares of the people around them. He imagined the light irritation in the boy’s voice when Tom would dip him or twirl him unexpectedly, that would quickly be replaced with a soft giggle as they continued to dance slowly on the dancefloor.

The image of the boy left his mind as he forced himself back into reality. He had a lot of things to take care of before he was able to enjoy himself at the end of the night. He hoped that Harrison hadn’t forgotten their promise. Not that it really mattered if he had. Tom would be sure to remind it to him.

He walked away from his reflection in the mirror and closer to the center of the room where a large cylinder-like glass cage stood. The inside of the cage was filled with exotic plant life that was almost impossible to find in any part of the Hogwarts Kingdom, along with bare bones of small animals. In the middle of it all a large green snake slept, unfazed by the light of the morning sun hitting it.

Tom leaned closer to the glass, tapping it lightly with his fingers in hopes of waking his beloved pet before noon. The snake shook slightly in its sleep but to Tom’s disappointment didn’t wake.

He couldn’t help but frown. Who knew that snakes would end up being so lazy?  Nagini could spent her entire day sleeping and she wouldn’t care. Normally Tom wouldn’t care as well but he had plans for her today. He tried tapping the glass again this time hissing softly at his sleepy pet.

**_“Nagini… I require your assistance, wake up.”_ **

As expected the snake gave in to her master’s demands, waking up and sending a pleading look at his way. She didn’t have to speak to express her need to sleep some more, but Tom was having none of it.

**_“Stop sulking so much, it’s a simple job. I have to head for breakfast now but when I come back I want you to be fully awake and ready to serve me.”_ **

Nagini shook her head.

 ** _“Yes Master, don’t fret I’ll be ready.”_** he heard her muffled by the glass voice say before she curled into herself again.

Tom smiled at her, tapping the glass one more time to indicate that he was leaving before exiting his chambers.

Having breakfast with his father wasn’t something he enjoyed. In fact, if he could avoid it altogether he would. But Tom didn’t have that kind of option, at least not today.

He could tell his father wanted to discuss the previous night as soon as he walked through the door. From what he had heard while listening in to the gossiping servants’ conversations the King was extremely disappointed that no one managed to find his son’s secret item last night. Tom couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed too. Though maybe things were better this way. He doubted Harrison would trust him after finding out he had been lying to him like that.

Tom took his seat at the long table, right across from his father who was already sipping his tea. He used to hate the distance the table would put between him and his parents. It always made him feel isolated and made him not want to touch any of his food until they allowed him to move closer.

A memory of him taking his plate and running with it to where his mother sat while she giggled at his actions popped into his head. He would sit next to her and she would gently ruffle his hair while he tried to eat on his own , his attempts causing his mother to laugh with glee and his father to frown disapprovingly only to soften his face a bit later when his wife smiled at him.

He wouldn’t admit out loud that he missed moments like these but he did miss his mother. Of course feelings and thoughts like these belonged to the past. Same with his desire to sit closer to his parents. As the years went by he started to not mind being away from his father, and now at 18 he was more than thankful for the distance the table put between them.

They started to eat in silence, the only words exxchanged being a “Good morning” and “Did you sleep well? Yes.”. It seemed to be just any other ordinary morning until the dining room doors burst open making Tom almost choke on the piece of cake he was eating.

The unwelcome visitor was no other than the old coot Dumbledore, who even though was in the presence of a King and a Prince decided to wear what appeared to be a weird combination of fancy pants in the color purple with a light blue sleep shirt and a floppy hat. Tom felt like he was in a fever dream. Who in their right mind dresses like that?

“Albus good morning, we’ve been waiting for you.” His father said smiling as he gestured at a chair close to him for the man to sit.

Actually they haven’t been waiting for him. At least as far as Tom was concerned, the old man should not be joining them for breakfast. He had never done it before and Tom would prefer if it stayed that way. He already had to see this idiot stroll in the castle all day he didn’t have to see him at breakfast too.

“Good morning to you to your Highness, Tom. A lovely day to eat beans early in the morning.” Dumbledore gleefully said as he took a seat near the King, leaving Tom at the other end of the table brooding for being called just by his name. He had a title too for Slytherin’s shake.

“How come you join us for breakfast today? You are usually preoccupied at these early hours. Did your knitting material finally run out?”  Tom added the last bit with a clear sneer on his face.

Dumbledore didn’t seem phased by Tom’s distaste towards him and his hobby, broadly smiling at the young Prince instead.

“Fortunately not, actually I just received a book from an old friend of mine all about different patterns you can add to your creations, a truly marvelous book.” He finished with a light chuckle.

“Truly marvelous yes.” Tom mumbled and continued eating his half-eaten piece of cake.

It was really infuriating. You’d think a powerful sorcerer like Dumbledore would spent his time doing something useful. Instead the man was well known for his woolen socks and scarves that he made and gave away as gifts every December.

"So…" the voice of his father from the other end of the table made him unglue his eyes from his half-empty plate to focus on the large vase that was in the center of the dining table, hiding most of his father from his vision. He should thank the servant who placed it there.

“Did you have fun at the ball Tom?”

There it was. The question he’s been waiting to hear since he first walked into the room. The reason why Dumbledore had come to eat with them. Apparently his father thought Dumbledore could make him talk about last night just by being there. What a complete idiot.

“It was enjoyable to a degree. Though I have to admit I was deeply disappointed that no one managed to find my little treasure.”

That wasn’t a complete lie. He was partly disappointed that Harrison had the audacity to just go and leave him alone in the middle of the dancefloor right when he had found the damned diary. But in the end that worked in his favor as he could spent more time with the other boy while being undercover.

“May I ask what sort of treasure was it?” Dumbledore said and looked at him, a look of genuine interest on his face.

“A personal journal. Nothing hard to find really, but I guess I overestimated the intelligence of our guests.”

He could feel his father’s glare on him the moment he finished that sentence but he honestly couldn’t care less about it. Dumbledore didn’t comment on his words but Tom could swear he saw him stiffen his mouth for a split second.

“Tom, if you keep on this attitude, thinking that everyone else is below you, you’ll have a very sad and lonely life. I don’t want that for you son.” Tom Sr. looked deadly serious when uttering these words but Tom couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him.

“Now, now your Majesty I am sure Tom knows that. He is simply upset because no one seemed to find what they were looking for yesterday.” Dumbledore said and looked at Tom, a hint of a twinkle in his eyes. “But thankfully we have plenty of time on our hands.”

Tom didn’t bother to pay much attention to the old coot’s words but they did save him from an hour long lecture about being respectful.

“Exactly, I am sorry father I didn’t mean to appear rude. Our guests weren’t all that bad.” The image of two stunning green eyes appeared in his brain. Not that bad at all.

“Yes, I am sure our Prince found people that peaked his interest.” Dumbledore said and took another piece of bacon on his plate while Tom started to feel like the old man knew more than he let out. Could he have been seen with Harrison?

Come to think of it he didn’t see Dumbledore at the ball yesterday. He’d have to be more careful around the man from now on. He made a mental note to order one of his death eaters to watch his movements tonight. He didn’t need the wanker ruining his plans, he already had Harrison for that.

“I sure hope so or else he is going to regret it in the future. The life of a King is hard as it is, being alone on the throne brings much misery to a man my son.” He gestured at himself with a sad smile.

“Yes father I know.”

What a ridiculous statement. Leading a "sad lonely life" wasn’t something he had planned for himself. Tom knew he was meant for greatness and greatness only. Plus he saw nothing sad about people knowing their place in life and their role in the Kingdom. Not all men are born equal, his father should know that by now.

Speaking of people knowing their place.

“I apologize but I’ll have to get going. I’m afraid my fencing lessons cannot wait.” He said and smirked at them before quickly getting up and exiting the room, ignoring his father calling after him.

He had a man to hunt down.

***

The fumes coming from the heated pot were another piece of evidence on how distracted he has been the whole day. From the minute he woke up Harry couldn’t wrap his head around the usual chores he had to do which resulted in various accidents throughout the day.

Harry stood up from the kitchen table and rushed to the fuming kitchen pot, taking it away from the heat and cursing out loud as his hands burned by touching the hot metal. He dropped the pot on the table and quickly moved towards the sink, running cold water on his aching hands.

“This is a disaster.”  Harry mumbled to himself while rubbing his hands with a dish towel that he previously used to dry the tons of breakfast dishes.

He walked back to the table, opening, with care this time, the pot. At least the food wasn’t burned. He wouldn’t be able to handle his Aunt’s screams if he ruined their lunch after almost ruining their breakfast a few hours ago. Not that Harry meant to do it of course. His mind had just been elsewhere. Travelling in long corridors with high ceilings and large ballrooms filled with people dressed in colorful and luxurious clothing. In between the memories of last night the beautiful face of a certain French Lord would appear but Harry tried to ignore it.

Thinking about Marvolo brought in his mind several weird feelings that Harry couldn’t really start to understand himself. Irritation was one of them obviously. Marvolo had been a pretentious git throughout the night, acting terribly arrogant to his new found companions, threatening that man and his family and lying about the diary but Harry couldn’t shut the other side of him that told him he had one of the best times of his life and would like to see the young Lord again.

The chances of meeting him again though seemed extremely slim. He really shouldn’t have promised that he would come back for a dance. Harry didn’t even know how to dance! Especially in front of a large crowd of people that would be watching and judging his every movement. For someone that lived his life in a dark attic away from people’s prying eyes that was a tad too much.

“Hmm…perhaps I could practice.” he wondered out loud and hesitantly walked towards a broom that was left in the kitchen from when he tried to clean it earlier.

Harry grabbed the broomstick with one hand and brought it in front of him. It could act like his dance partner for a bit. He inhaled sharply, trying his best not to laugh at the situation, going over the steps he saw aunt Petunia teach Dudley the days before the ball.

One step to the left, now back…now left again- no wait right!  Before he even noticed Harry’s foot ended up tangled between the broom’s bristles. He was pretty sure that was the equivalent of stepping on your partner’s foot.

“Ugh… I am terrible at this aren’t I?” he said with a giggle, addressing the broom that he was holding oh so dearly close to him. He looked at the broomstick for a while as if expecting it to come to life and tell him how much he sucked at dancing. 

Harry let out a chuckle and shook his head, amazed at himself for how stupid he was acting. If any of the people he met yesterday were to see him like this he was sure they would pity him. Well not all of them.

He was sure Marvolo, unlike the broomstick and the other friendly people he met, would have made some comments on his skills on the dancefloor.

Harry’s lack of dancing skills wasn’t the only thing holding him back from his promise. He wasn’t sure how he would get to go to the ball tonight when all his magical artifacts had vanished into thin air last night, leaving him a few meters away from the manor of his relatives. Not even the fancy clothes had survived the change, turning back into his old peasant ones.

The only thing that was on him after the magic ended was the invitation he had given to that rude guard. Harry didn’t remember getting it back from him so it must have returned to him with sorcery.

His only hope was that Dumbledore would appear again tonight but he doubted it. He wasn’t sure if could even trust the man now that he knew of his suspicious associations with people who were against the King and wanted to harm him. Harry should wish the old man away yet he couldn’t help but yearn for his assistance once more.

“Where is he now, boy! Come here this instant.” a muffled shout was heard from above which caused Harry to let out a deep sigh. What did that insufferable woman want again?

She and his uncle had been in a bad mood all morning. Mumbling under their breaths and letting out cold comments about how unfair the game’s rules were and how the King shouldn’t let some game determine who gets to marry the Prince. Harry from all that concluded that Dudley hadn’t even been able to solve the riddle that was given to him causing the Dursleys to be disqualified from the game before they could even enter.

Of course he couldn’t say anything about it since he wasn’t supposed to know about the game. A pity really, he would have so much material to bug Big D with, but he didn’t want to slip up and admit he had been at the ball.

“BOY IF YOU DON’T COME HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT.” The shrill voice of his aunt could be heard more clear now, her voice filling the kitchen.

“I am coming!” he shouted back and with one last look at the food run up the kitchen stairs.

Harry entered the foyer finding his aunt, who was wearing an ugly canary dress along with a ghastly brown hat with feathers that were hiding most of her face, standing in the middle of the room. He would have laughed out loud had it not been for the pissed of expression on her face.

“How many times do I have to call for you before you answer, you ungrateful child?” She said, her voice cold.

“I am sorry Aunt Petunia I was just tending the food.” he replied avoiding any eye contact. He really didn’t feel like picking a fight today.

She let out a huff, making the feathers on her ugly hat shake.

“I didn’t ask to hear any of your excuses boy. Now here, take this.” she took a black pouch out of one of her dress’s pockets and handed it to him. Harry couldn’t not goggle at the sight of the pouch as it landed between his fingers.

“You are…paying me?” he asked, with a hopeful note in his voice. That hope died quickly, as he faced his Aunt’s grim face. So that wasn’t the payment for his services. He really should have known better.

“Paying you?! Don’t be ridiculous. What would a rat like you need the money for? We already provide you with everything you need, you don’t need anything else besides that."  she said and pointed at the pouch."These are for our new clothes for the ball.” she said, the glare she sent him could easily be described as deadly.

“New clothes for the ball?” Harry couldn’t help but think this was a chance for him to get something too. Maybe he could actually go to the ball and keep his promise.

“Can I buy for myself too? With as much money as I have left at the end?” he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

Petunia laughed, or more accurately shrilled. Harry didn’t really understand what she had found so funny. Surely the money were enough for a hand-me-down outfit. Madame Malkin had cheap stuff as well, the Dursleys just never bothered to buy them.

“You think you’ll be able to buy anything with the change you’ll get?  Don’t make me laugh Harry. They wouldn’t allow anyone in the ball with…hand-me downs. I wouldn’t allow you to go dressed like that either.” she added, her stare once again cold even though she was laughing mere seconds ago.

Harry brought Luna’s outfit to mind and concluded that the King didn’t really seem to care about what his guests’ wore. Marvolo on the other hand would be petrified if "Harrison James Peters" came to the ball in hand-me downs. He’d be outed as a fraud. Harry didn’t want that.

“What are you standing there for? Go already, we don’t have all day! And be sure to be here by lunch time. I won’t take any more mistakes from you today.” And with that she turned on her heels and started walking up the stairs of the foyer towards the upper floor.

Harry stared at the black pouch for a bit with a thoughtful expression on his face. He didn’t think the money would be enough for a whole new outfit but maybe he could make some sort of bargain. He could at least try.

***

"P-please…please stop this. I’ll give you anything just please..."

The man’s annoyingly pleading voice suddenly stopped, as his eyes rolling almost to the back of his head, his skin getting more red and puffy as time went on, his mouth opened as if he was trying to scream, but only a sick gurgle escaped his throat, causing spit to roll down his face.

Tom had to admit that he preferred the man choking than actually talking but he didn’t plan to take his strangulation too far. This was only a light punishment after all, not a death sentence, even though he wouldn’t mind leaving the corpse of that pathetic man laying in the forest till someone stumbled upon him.

Another chocking sound escaped the man and Tom decided to end it. He could already picture the disappointment on his followers’ faces that they didn’t get to finish him off but Tom couldn’t allow it. He doubted Harrison would want the man dead, he was too chivalrous for that. But that didn’t mean that Tom couldn’t teach him a proper lesson first. Harrison didn’t have to know.

 ** _“Nagini, that’s enough. Release him.”_** he spoke lovingly at his pet as she slowly untied herself from the man, her body no longer struggling him.

**_“Eating him wouldn’t be possible…he is too big and I’m full.”_ **

She slithered away from the man, making him fall from his kneeling position onto his face as he maniacally coughed and spluttered with a mix of tears and spit trailing down his chin and onto his expensive, now completely ruined, clothes.

The five men that surrounded him laughed and pointed at the pathetic display in front of them, taunting the man on the ground and Tom honestly couldn’t blame them. The whole situation was humorous to say the least, he allowed himself to let out a harsh laugh that made the old man whimper.

Finding Fudge was way easier than Tom expected it to be. As soon as the guests had left the castle he summoned Lucius and described to him with as much detail as he could the man that had ruffled up Harrison. Lucius surprisingly turned out to be useful, saying he already knew who that man was and where to find him.

Cornelius Fudge was part of a quite well-known Slytherin line that had served the Kingdom of Salazar throughout the years.  He was a man in his late 50s with grey hair and nothing extraordinary about him. As an individual Fudge tried to enter the King’s Royal Advisors table but with no success, so he settled for a job at the Kingdom’s Department of Accidents and Catastrophes, usually caused by untrained sorcerers of the area or natural disasters.

Tom was extremely pleased at Lucius for that quick connection, proving to the Prince once again how useful someone as influential as a Malfoy heir can be. He had connections with even the most pathetic, trivial little men. He made a mental note to award him for the success of the task.

Dragging Fudge into the forest was also exceptionally easy. The man had been in a nearby manor when Dolohov and Rookwood found him and escorted him into the deep woods, threatening him on the way that they would happily attack his family if he didn’t follow them. Dolohov said that Fudge had tried to call for help as he was brought in, which caused his follower to gag him with his handkerchief that had been removed so that Tom could hear his begs and pleads.

A loud whimper came from the old man on the ground, who was still fallen on his knees, shaking and spluttering. A cruel smirk appeared on Tom’s face at that sight of the crying subject. It really was the place where the man deserved to be. Another sound escaped from Fudge and Tom took a step towards him.

“Look at me you filthy man.” he ordered.

Fudge slowly raised his head from the ground, his face red and puffy from screaming and crying. His blue, tear-filled eyes stared with difficulty at Tom’s face as it was mostly concealed by the shadow of his black hood. The prince soured his lips at the miserable sight. Fudge would serve much better as Nagini’s dinner but she already stated that she had no intention of eating him. A pity really.

“P-please…I told you y-you can take anything. Ev-everything I own is yours just-“ Fudge started begging again but Tom cut him off.

“I do not require any of your stuff you pitiful existence of a man. I merely wanted to remind you of your place, which you seem to have forgotten about.” he said and took a step even closer to him. Fudge was trembling and Tom couldn’t stop the glee that he felt. 

“Now I’ll say this once. If I see you causing any more trouble inside the palace grounds I will not hesitate to inform the King, and-" he stopped to pet Nagini’s head, which was resting on his left shoulder as she was curled around his torso. “…take the appropriate actions.”

Fudge stared at him for a few seconds, unmoving as if trying to make sense out of what he had just said. He then proceeded to nod vigorously, his whole body shaking with fear.

“I-I promise to you my Lord Voldemort…I won’t cause any more trouble. You, you won’t even see me again.” Tom smirked.

“What a good boy, learning so fast. Lord Voldemort is pleased with you, but he would be more pleased if you didn’t discuss this… friendly encounter we had with anyone else.” He was almost hovering above Fudge’s body now, trying to intimidate him with his height.

“Because if you do, trust me, I will know.” Tom hissed as he leaned down to make sure he heard him.

Before the man could say anything Tom signaled Dolohov and Rookwood to take him away. They were both by his sides in an instant, grabbing the man from the collar of his coat and gagging him once again. Tom ignored the mumbled screaming and turned to the rest of his followers who were already on their horses ready to return to the castle.

Tom walked to his own horse, Nessie. She was a purebred dark horse with a black shining mane and a trained body ready to jump in any fight. She had been his horse companion for several years and he was the one who trained her to be as ruthless as her rider. Nessie was truly a marvelous creature. He got on her and looked around at his followers who were waiting patiently for his orders.

 “The others will catch up with us, we need to get going. We wouldn’t want to miss the ball.” he said and signaled to Lucius to start riding towards the castle. Lestrange and Severus followed right behind him into the depths of the forest.

He glanced at Severus’s figure and a thought passed through his mind. He would have to ask the man to look into it once they were at the castle. He still wasn’t sure if Harrison was lying or telling the truth but he wouldn’t risk it. He couldn't risk it.

Tom wondered if finding the two mysterious dark figures would be as easy as finding Fudge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy here is an update! It took me long but its here. I wanted to make this chapter longer since it doesn't take place at the nights of the ball but then it would be toooo long... hope you enjoyed it either way! I might call this chapter my revenge on Fudge for all of Harry' s 5th year.  
> As always I appreciate all your comments and reviews and they help me to get motivated and write more!  
> so thank you <3


	8. The start of the 2nd night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * appears 3 months later holding a starbucks* what did I miss?  
> Okay but really I am so so sorry for taking so long to update this fic. I just found myself stuck on how to continue and sort of gave up but now I am back on track. I won't abandon this fic but it might take me longer to update it so I deeply apologise in advance and a HUGE thanks to whoever stuck along thus far!

They arrived at the castle earlier than expected. Tom didn’t realize how easy it would be to intimidate Fudge but it turned out that the man was an even bigger coward than Tom originally thought he was. How boring. A whole evening wasted on such a pathetic little human. At least, Tom thought, in a sense he got Harrison’s blood back. A part of him reminded himself that if Harrison were ever to learn about his actions today he would never speak to him again. He frowned at the thought, the idea of him and Harrison never speaking again didn’t sit well with him. He barely knew anything about the intriguing boy and for whatever reason he craved to learn more.

Walking inside his room he let Nagini as gently as he could into her cage, getting scolded in the process by the snake for being manhandled like that. Her mood had soured after being denied a human meal but it wasn’t even Tom’s fault to begin with so he ignored her angry hissing and made his way to his writing desk.

He sat down and tried to tend to some papers his teachers had assigned to him but his eyes kept shifting on the old wooden clock that decorated the wall of the room. It was still too early to start getting ready for the ball but Tom found himself inexplicably distracted by the mere idea of the night that would follow.

Was he excited for the hunt? Not particularly… He had already failed to get Harrison to give the first item to his father in time making the first night of the game end in a dissatisfactory tone. Tom promised to himself to not be so careless tonight. He would make sure Harrison got the item this time.

At the thought he instinctively started playing with the big ring on his finger. It would be really easy to slip it to Harrison’s pockets as they were dancing. As they were dancing…together…would Harrison even show up? He had left so abruptly last night giving no explanation as to why. Tom had been so startled he barely had time to comprehend what was going on. But at least he got a promise out of him.

Harrison seemed like a man who didn’t go back to his promises. That was the single salvation Tom had for tonight. He trusted his gut enough to know that he was mostly right about all things but he couldn’t help but doubt himself on this.

What would he do if Harrison didn’t show up?

***

The town seemed way more crowded and hectic from what Harry remembered it to be. All kinds of people were walking up and down the pavements happily chatting with each other, others would go in and out the stores carrying large baskets with them and the occasional horse-riders would pass from the street and hopelessly try to make way through the sea of people. Harry privately wondered if all this was happening for the second night of the ball that was to be held that night.

As soon as he walked up to Madame Malkin’s shop his suspicions turned out to be exactly right. Tons of people were standing outside the shop in a line that resembled more a wild crowd, their brooding expressions giving away how long they’d been waiting for their turn to come. Apparently his aunt wasn’t the only one who thought to make more than one dress for the ball. The whole bloody District did as well.

Harry allowed himself a groan of frustration and cursed his luck under his breath, earning a scandalized look from an elderly lady that stood in front of him. At this rate he wouldn’t be able to even get home before eight, his aunt was going to be furious if they were to be late to the ball because of him. Harry could already picture her angry face spitting curses his way and the way his hands would sting when his uncle’s cane made contact with his bare flesh. He shuddered at the thought and instinctively started rubbing his hands together. He prayed he wouldn’t have to face Uncle Vernon’s wrath once he went back home.

The line was not moving for quite a while and the people around, including Harry, started getting more and more impatient. They started to complain loudly and even throw personal insults to Madame Malkin which Harry found absolutely improper, especially when said in a very public setting. But he guessed that was the point of insulting someone.

The angry crowd didn’t give off any signs that it was going to calm down any time soon until a girl with long black hair and a blue dress came out of the shop holding a big sign that read thus:

“ **Entry only to people with already tailored and ordered clothing**.”

The girl placed the sign in front of her as if to hide her face and defend herself from the rage of the crowd that was sure to follow. Not long after the announcement, the crowd was attacking her with loud questions and uncouth remarks. Harry couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It was obvious that with so much work they would eventually run out of fabric and most importantly patience.

“Ladies and Gentlemen we apologize for the trouble but we are not able to produce anything new for today. You may go to other boutiques nearby that will help you. Thank you for your understanding.” the girl said while still hiding behind the big sign. Harry couldn’t help but snigger.

After that, the largest part of the crowd started leaving while mumbling under its breath leaving behind, thankfully, a relatively smaller line. The girl finally lowered her sign and looked at the couple that was standing at the begging of the line.

"You may enter Madame Malkin will see you soon." she said and threw a charming smile at them as they entered the shop before scanning the rest of the line with her eyes when they suddenly stopped on Harry. The girl frowned and squinted at him as if trying to remember something.

Realization hit Harry as soon as the girl’s eyes had locked with him. Who could ever forget their first crush? Kind of hard to try and forget. He awkwardly rose his hand and waved at her earning an enthusiastic wave back as she started to walk closer to him.

“Harry!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around him before he could offer a handshake. She had always been quite touchy.

“Cho… it’s good to see you.” he wrapped his hands around her awkwardly trying to return the hug. She thankfully got the hint and pulled back quickly.

“It’s good to see you too! It’s been so long…”she said and shook her head as a wave of nostalgia hit her. Harry couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. It had been too long.

“I thought you moved over to Hufflepuff District with your fiancé…what was his name…umm Cede- something…”

“Oh Cedric yes! Yeah I did move out three years ago but I decided to come back and try and find a new job here. Hufflepuff District is all well and good but I missed home.” she said and pushed back some of her silky black hair that was blocking her eyes.

Harry had forgotten how pretty Cho was. With her raven black hair and clever brown eyes, Harry had fell for her quite hard only to find out she was to be engaged to a Lord from Hufflepuff. He was really distraught when he found out but seeing Cho smiling at the mention of her fiancé made him realize that it was for the best. Cedric obviously made her happy.

“Well I am glad to see you back. Are you working at Madame Malkin’s now?” he asked and Cho nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes I am! She is a very lovely person and she needed help, with the ball coming up and everything. I only got my invite today due to some problems with my address. Did you get to go?”

Harry bit the inside of his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything dumb. He couldn’t admit he went to the ball, even to Cho. Word moved fast around here and he couldn’t risk it. So he shook his head in a negative manner.

“No sorry, I didn’t have the privilege to go…too much work you know?” he hoped he sounded convincing enough. But from the frowning look Cho gave him he probably didn’t.

“Was it those awful people again? I bet it was. They didn’t let you go did they?” she asked in a hushed tone to prevent the others around them from hearing.

Right. Cho knew about the Dursley’s. Obviously she would assume that they wouldn’t let him go. Which was true despite Harry completely ignoring their order and going anyways. Harry could use this as an excuse then, he wouldn’t be suspected of anything.

“Yeah okay…but you know I couldn’t really do anything.” he said and shrugged earning a concerned look from Cho. At least it wasn’t pitiful. He hated when people pitied him.

“I am sorry Harry. They are truly awful.” her eyes fell on the brown pouch he was holding. “Did you come by to pick up their clothes?” she said and pointed at the pouch.

Harry nodded.

“I see…well come along then.” Cho said and turned around starting to walk towards the shop. Harry blinked at her not sure what do. He was almost at the end of the line and doubted the other costumers would willingly let him pass in front of them.

“Um Cho… I’m still behind on the waiting line.” he said as he caught up with her but she just shrugged him off.

“Don’t be silly Harry we’ll go from the back. I don’t want those horrible people to yell at you for being late.” Cho said and made a beeline to the back of the store with Harry at her side not knowing how to thank her.

They walked into the store and found themselves in a small room filled with patterns and fabric. Harry took a look around and felt suffocated by the amount of stuff that existed in such a small space. He watched as Cho made her way through the chaos completely unfazed by everything that was going on around her.

She stopped and turned around to face Harry, a conspiratorial smile on her face.

“I’ll go get the clothes for your family, you can wait here if you want. Hopefully it won’t take long.” she said and rushed out of the door and left Harry alone in the chaos of the room.

He still couldn’t believe Cho was back. It felt like forever since he had last seen her. And why come back three years later? What was the point? Life seemed to be getting even weirder for him. First a sorcerer comes to visit him and makes him into a fairytale prince, then he meets people who seem to actually like him…and Marvolo. And now his ex-crush was back in town. Things sure were weird.

Harry tried looking around for somewhere to sit but was disappointed to find that every surface was covered with fabrics or large pieces of paper. They should really take better care of their storage room. He went to lean on a wooden pillar when he saw a piece of paper fall from a nearby self. He rushed over there and picked it up with the intention of putting it back on the self when his eye caught the royal symbol.

“Is this…Cho’s invitation?” Harry looked at the paper and read through the first lines. Something didn’t seem right. Unlike his own invitation, Cho’s was written in regular black ink. Was it because she got hers a day later? He kept reading and got to the signature part only to find that it wasn’t signed by the eccentric man who signed Harry’s. Instead of the mouthful that was Dumbledore’s name Harry saw the neat handwriting of Abraxas Malfoy.

Harry blinked at the invitation with confusion. Why were they so different from each other, had Dumbledore only written a few of them? Or just his?  He hoped to see the man soon again as the list of questions for him got longer. Harry placed the invitation back where he found it and went to stand on the pillar once more.

He stayed there for a few minutes before the door opened up and Cho walked in holding three huge bags that looked like she could barely carry. Harry rushed up to her and grabbed the bags from her, hearing a relieved sigh as the weight left her and went on him instead.

“This is all! They were quite easy to find. Your aunt’s dress looks ghastly by the way.” she said and giggled at the idea of Aunt Petunia in that dress. Harry silently agreed with her.

“Thanks for the help Cho I owe you big time.” he said as he handed her the money for the order. She took them and shook her head.

“Nonsense. You owe me nothing. I just wish I could make something for you too…to wear I mean.”

“Well I doubt I will be able to go today.” Harry said , not caring enough to hide his bitter expression  “But maybe some other day.” he offered at the end not wanting to offend Cho by denying her kind offer to help him out.

“Maybe…now that I am here I can help you out.” she said and smiled sweetly at him.

“I know. Thank you so much Cho.” he said and went to turn around when a thought passed through his brain.

“Cho?”

“Yes Harry?”

“Do you perhaps know how to dance?”

***

“STOP!”

Tom growled and threw his sword down, creating a loud clatter that scattered across the room. This fencing practice was really getting to his nerves. And to think he did it to distract himself in the first place.

“What is wrong again Titus? I disarmed him and was about to take his head.”  He said and glared at his instructor who had the audacity to stop the fight for the 5th time in a row.

“My Prince, we do not take anyone heads in fencing. It is a sport for gentlemen not barbaric people.”

“Are you calling me a Barbarian Titus?” he hissed and walked closer to the man who was now slightly shaking with fear.

“O-of course not my Prince I was merely saying t-that you-“

“ENOUGH.” Tom barked behind his fencing mask, making the other man still and shut his mouth. He grinned at the frightened expression on Titus’s face and turned around towards the man he had defeated that was still laying on the floor.

“Avery get up and go bring me Severus. I need to talk to him. And tell him to hurry.”

The man nodded and pushed himself of the floor, rushing out the room without even taking off his mask. At least someone was able to follow such simple orders. Tom took off his mask, allowing his wet from the sweat hair to fall on his red from the exercise face. He hated fencing so much. The swords weren’t even swords, the masks and outfits were too hot to wear and you couldn’t even harm anyone. Really what was the point?

He glanced at Titus who for some reason was still standing there even though Tom had clearly dismissed the lesson.

“Titus get out of my sight before you find yourself instructing pirates instead of royals.”

The man gasped and almost run out of the room leaving Tom alone with a satisfied smile on his lips.

Severus walked in a few minutes later. His usual unimpressed expression proudly taped on his face. It kind of infuriated Tom how blaze this guy was but a lot of things made him mad today. Severus bowed his head to him.

“Avery told me you needed me my Lord.” it wasn’t really a question but Tom decided to reply as if it were a question anyways.

“Yes Severus, it’s about last night. You see I was informed by a…reliable source…that some peculiar guests looked through some of my family’s stuff and later…disappeared in thin air.” he said and looked at his follower.

“Don’t you find that strange?”

“You believe it was a sorcerer my Lord?” the man asked, his brows now tilted in a frown. He apparently found the situation as bizarre as Tom did. Good.

“That is for you to find out Severus. You are one of them. If someone was here you should know whether the wards were disturbed or not.”

“Dumbledore is the one responsible for the wards my Lord not me.” Snape said and Tom felt his blood boiling again.

“I don’t care what the old coot does Snape! If he is at fault find a way to prove it. Your job is to investigate and find who or what was here yesterday and get rid off it. That’s an order.” Tom said and turned to face the man.

“Don’t disappoint me.”

“I won’t disappoint you my Lord.”

***

After the dance lesson ended, Harry was still unsure how he had convinced Cho to teach him a few dancing moves, he rushed home carrying the three large bags with him. He knew it was in vain to learn how to dance but he wanted to feel like he tried to keep his promise to Marvolo as much as he could.

He got home soon enough and saw his aunt first thing as he stepped inside. What a nice thing to come back to.

“You are late boy!” she shrieked and walked closer to him, her arms on her hips. He didn’t dare look at her face.

“I am sorry Aunt Petunia there were a lot of people at the shop.” he said and handed her the three bags before rushing upstairs not wanting to get yelled at by her any longer.

He walked in the attic and closed the door behind him. He could hear his huge cousin walking down the stairs to go get his clothes for tonight and felt a lump in his throat. He deserved to go to that ball as much as they did but he doubted Dumbledore would show up tonight too. The man had helped him enough yesterday, he couldn’t take advantage of his kindness.

Harry laid on his bed and closed his yes. The only good thing that came from this was that he didn’t have to prepare dinner as the family would eat at the ball. Therefore Harry had enough free time to do whatever he wanted which in this case was sleep the sadness away. He closed his eyes and tried to drift into sleep. He could still hear the voices of his family as they rushed around the house to get ready. A bit later he fell asleep.

A loud tapping sound was heard from above his head and Harry’s eyes immediately popped open. He moved slowly, rising from his bed, feeling drowsy from the sleep. He turned towards the window that was above his head and his drowsiness was gone is a second.

An owl!

An actual owl was tapping against his window.

Without even thinking about it he moved closer to the wooden window and opened it allowing the creature to fly in and land gracefully on his bed. Harry watched the owl in awe as it stood there looking at him with big judging eyes. He felt as if the bird was measuring whether he was worthy enough for her services.

Harry closed the window and moved closer to the bird. He noticed an envelope was wrapped around the creature’s leg along with a package. He frowned. Who would sent him a package? Could it be…?

“Did Dumbledore sent you?” he asked before he could stop himself. As if the bird could understand him. Talking to snakes and now to birds. His aunt might be right for calling him crazy.

The owl obviously didn’t respond but extended the leg that held the envelope. Harry carefully took it from her leg and opened it.

“ _Dear Harry,_

_I hope this gets to you in time. I was going to be there myself but I am afraid other plans got in the way. I took some liberties with the outfit today and made it so it matches your eyes. Hope you like it.  Dumbledore._

_PS:  The magic will fade at 12 just like last time be sure to keep an eye on the time. PSII: The owl needs payment._ ” 

Harry couldn’t believe what he had just read. Dumbledore had once more come to his rescue with a bird. He eyed the owl and carefully reached for the package she was carrying, not wanting to get bitten. He opened it and saw the most beautiful emerald green he had ever seen. His outfit was quite similar with his previous one but for some reason this one seemed more appropriate for him. Under the outfit he found a mask of the same color and a bright smile formed on his face.

The outfit problem had been solved, now if only he could find a- his thought process got cut off by the sound of horses neighing just outside the house. Harry felt as if his smile was going to break his face from how wide it was. Everything was solved now.

The owl gave out a loud screech.

Oh he still needed to pay the bird.

***

 Walking through the castle’s entrance again felt like a breath of fresh air for Harry. He had been so anxious all day that he wouldn’t be able to come back and relive the magic he felt yesterday or meet up with people who actually liked him for a change. His mind wandered off to Marvolo once more. He was able to keep his end of the promise, he had appeared. Now they just needed to find each other in a sea of people with concealed faces.

Harry felt his stomach drop at the thought. They should have arranged a meeting spot but he had to rush off before things became even more complicated to explain. He cursed himself for not paying attention at the time yesterday, the hunting game along with the company of a caustic aristocrat threw Harry out of his rhythm easier than expected. But not today. He was prepared for what was going to happen tonight. At least he thought he was.

As he entered the dance hall, from a smaller door instead of the main entrance, he instantly felt his luck had run out. The room was buzzing with music and laughter just like last time but for some reason Harry got the feeling that the crowd had doubled over the course of a day. It would be impossible to find any familiar faces around here, especially since everyone was wearing a mask so Harry wasn’t even sure what to look for.

He needed a plan to locate anyone he knew. He went down the list of people he would want to spend the rest of the night with and came to the conclusion that Luna would be the easiest to spot in a crowd. Judging by her unusual fashion sense Harry had no doubts she would be wearing something similarly interesting tonight too. Finding her among the crowd suddenly felt much easier.

Harry politely rejected a drink from a waiter and started making his way around the hall his eyes scanning the whole area trying to find any sign of wild flowers and bright colors when he felt a soft hand tag at his arm. He turned around full of excitement that someone found him only to be greeted by a girl he didn’t recognize. She gave him a charming smile, wrapping her pale hand around his arm using her other hand to push a few black curls that fell on her face. Harry felt entirely trapped. He starred down at her smiling face and noticed a pair of dark brown eyes behind batting lashes staring at him as he was about to be eaten.

“Umm…” he began to say but quickly got cut off.

“You looked as if you were searching for someone. I took it upon me to make you seem less lost.” she said in a sickly sweet voice and batted her eyelashes faster that Harry was sure they were going to fly off her face anytime soon.

“Actually I was on my way to-“

“I am Romilda Vane by the way, you may have heard of me. My father is quite well known around these parts but he is especially famous at Ravenclaw District. Anyways you looked like you could use some company, do you want to dance Mr...” she let her mouth hang as her eyes moved away from Harry’s face to something behind him.

He went to turn around and face whatever had stopped the girl’s rumbling when he felt a strong arm wrap around his waist, making him let out a quite embarrassing gasp. Why were random people so keen on touching him today? He frowned and went to talk when a soft and silk voice came from behind him.

“Harrison where were you? I was looking everywhere for you, you had me worried.”

“Marvolo?!”

Harry finally turned around the frown gone from his face. He stared at the boy in front of him with wide eyes from shock. Somehow Marvolo had managed to make himself look even more like a rich aristocratic snob as he was bathed in silver from head to toe. Harry didn’t want to admit it be the git did look incredibly handsome in silver, shining under the light of the chandeliers like an Orion in the dark night sky.

Marvolo smiled down at him and turned his attention to the gaping girl that still hadn’t closed her mouth, her eyes wide open behind her violet mask. She looked stunned by Marvolo’s entire existence and Harry felt kind of sorry for her. If only she knew the true nature of the boy that was currently wooing her.

“I apologize but I’ll have to steal him from you. I hope it’s not troubling for you Miss.” he said and tightened his arm around Harry’s waist making its owner flush red. Harry had completely forgotten about Marvolo’s grip on his waist. Dear Godric what was happening in his life.

Romilda took a look between the two of them with a frown on her face and bit her lip as if trying to decide something.

“There is no problem.” she said finally “You can have him. I am sure I’ll be able to find someone else willing to dance with me.”  She bowed her head to Harry’s direction before walking away as fast as she came.

“Well that was way easier than expected, I thought she was going to put on a better fight for your company. Guess she was just trying to mess with you.” Marvolo said, his voice dropping the fake politeness and face scrunching up in disgust. There was the Marvolo too-good-for-other-people Harry knew and for some reason tolerated.

He noticed Marvolo still hadn’t moved his hand around him and went to point it out when the taller boy leaned close to his face, startling him into silence for the second time this night. Harry felt his heart bumping quicker than usual and silently begged it to stop this nonsense.

“Glad to see you kept your promise.” the soft voice said, Marvolo’s hot breath hitting against his cheek as he tried to come up with a response that didn’t include him stuttering. Marvolo’s intense stare on him didn’t help the situation either.

“I told you I would come.” He said in almost a whisper and caught a glimpse of Marvolo smiling.

“Yes you did. You also look dashing in green.” he purred.

 Harry felt his face flush at the compliment and decided it was a great time to push away Marvolo’s hand and try to control his breathing and heartbeat again. Why did the boy have to get so embarrassing at times? Harry was sure he got some sort of sick pleasure from tormenting people like this.

Marvolo stepped back from him and straightened his back, his expression less playful than before. Had Harry offended him by pushing his hand away? He did only do it to mess with Harry in the first place so he really shouldn’t get angry. The boy in silver extended his arm towards Harry, a sly smirk appearing on his face as he asked:

“May I have this dance?”

Harry rolled his eyes at the faked manners.

“How can I say no to a Lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are ma bois going to dance in the next chapter? Who knows! This was mostly a filler chapter since I put the most interesting parts at the previous one....still I apologise for taking so long. Hope you liked this update! I appreciate every comment ,review and criticism I get ! A big thanks again to whoever stuck around till now ^^


	9. Harry trying to dance

“How can I say no to a Lord?”

“Well, in all honesty you can’t. I had your word you would dance with me.” said Tom.

“Cheeky.”

“I tend to be. From time to time.”

Harrison smiled and reluctantly took Tom’s extended hand, allowing him to drag them both to the dance floor, placing them in-between other couples which were already swinging to the previous melody and were observing the newcomers with obvious amusement.

Tom couldn’t be happier to have the attention of everyone around him but he could tell Harrison didn’t share his feelings. He was fidgeting and staring at his feet, slightly frowning, as if scolding them to dance well and not make a fool out of him. Tom found endearing how nervous and reluctant he was but would prefer if the boy had some fun too. It was a dance after all. And Tom was a phenomenal dance partner.

There was a slight pause when the previous song ended and as soon as it was done Tom grabbed Harrison’s hands, bringing them both into position, taking the leading role in the dance. Harrison then looked up at him in obvious confusion. He opened his mouth as if to protest about something but simply closed it right after, his gaze lowering once more.

The first notes of a song started playing and they both started to move to the music that echoed in the enormous dance hall. More couples started joining the dance, surrounding the two of them as they danced. Tom looking at Harrison and Harrison looking at his feet, his face full of concentration.

After a few moments Tom realized why Harrison had looked so nervous at the beginning. He was a dreadful dancer.

He obviously hadn’t practiced much in his life, which seemed strange to Tom as it was a requirement for every man of Harrison’s social circle to be taught basic dancing skills. Perhaps his family hadn’t considered them important enough and therefore hadn’t provided him any dancing schooling. But Harrison didn’t look like he was dancing for the first time in his life either. He obviously knew the steps but he kept his head down, focusing on his stepping and avoiding to look at his dance partner.

Tom couldn’t take it anymore. As weird as Harrison’s limited dancing education was he was promised a proper dance and he was going to get one. Even if it meant getting his feet stepped on a few times.

“You know…” he started, his grip tightening around Harrison “it is considered quite rude to look at your feet instead of your dance partner.” Tom decided to add “Making small talk is also required in case you didn’t know.”

Immediately Harrison lifted his head to face him, a slight blush spread across his cheeks much to Tom’s amusement. He hadn’t meant to embarrass the other but his lack of dance etiquette was driving Tom up a wall. Though Harrison did lack in many other areas of etiquette but that was a topic for another day.

Harrison stared at him for a bit, his eyes shining under the light of the chandeliers, his brows furrowed in contemplation, clearly trying to think about what to say.

“I apologize, I don’t really…do this much.” he finally said and this time focused his stare just above Tom’s ear. He seemed to refuse to look Tom in the eyes, which just made Tom even more irritated.

He let out a scoff. “It’s obvious that you aren’t familiar with it. Why didn’t you say so before?” Tom said and turned them around just in time to avoid bumping into an elderly couple who deemed appropriate to move around without paying any attention to the other pairs around them.

_Bloody dotards._

“It’s not like I don’t know what I am doing!” Harrison exclaimed and as to emphasize the complete opposite of what he just said stepped on Tom’s left foot with force. 

Tom grimaced in pain and glared at Harrison’s direction whose face was twisted into a guilty expression. It seemed that he hadn’t meant to annihilate Tom’s foot but almost did so by accident. That somehow seemed worse.

“That being said I am still kind of new to this whole thing. I just need to get used to it.” Harrison continued to talk, his voice showing signs of embarrassment, still feeling guilty for stepping on Tom’s foot. Tom couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the more than obvious statement.

He was still curious though. Harrison admitted that he had only recently started taking dancing lessons. Why did his family wait so long to do so? Could they not afford it? Surely that couldn’t be the case. Harrison’s outfit was yet again beyond beautiful and looked like clothing only noble or extremely rich families could afford to wear.

The whole situation was really strange. Harrison kept being a mystery to Tom, everything about him was peculiar and unknown. From his blood and social status to his complete lack of self-preservation and basic gentleman etiquette. Come to think of it...had he even heard the name Peters before?

A crushing pain on his right foot made Tom’s train of thought stop and get replaced by the train of pain and suffering. He let out a hiss despite himself and glared at Harrison, who had the decency to mumble a sorry while lowering his head. 

The night wasn’t going as well as Tom had imagined. Quite the opposite really. The treasure hunt hadn’t even began yet, but he felt the urge to shove the ring that was located in his pocket, right into Harrison’s hands and call it a night. At least it would put an end to this farce they called dancing.

Tom was about to suggest they step away from the dance floor and put an end to Harrison’s and his feet suffering, when he felt a light tap on his left shoulder. He barely had any time to register what was going on as he tried to turn around and face whoever interrupted them. Before he knew it Harrison was taken away from his arms and he was left looking at a highly unamused masked man instead.

“What in Slytherin’s name just happened?” he questioned to no one in particular. To his surprise, a girl’s voice only a few feet away answered him.

“It was about time we changed partners don’t you think so Lord Voldemort?”

He turned around to see the concealed face of none other than Miss Hermione Granger looking at him with a mischievous expression on her face while dragging Harrison away with her. The latter gave him a guilty-looking smile and seemed to be just as confused as Tom felt.

The both of them disappeared into the crowd leaving Tom behind to ponder what in the world went wrong tonight. He looked at the man in front of him who was still staring at the spot where Ms.Granger and Harrison had disappeared. He quickly noted that the man wasn’t the girl’s obnoxious fiancée. He had tousled blond hair and a pair of green eyes that could in no way compete with the vibrancy of Harrison’s own ones.

Both men then looked at each other with equally unimpressed expressions on their faces. The music was still playing and Tom could properly see Harrison and Granger dance together from the corner of his eye. Tom found it difficult to admit how much discomfort that sight made him feel.

He noticed how Harrison moved slightly better and could actually look and talk to Granger when he was the one to lead. Tom silently cursed himself for being so stupid.

Obviously Harrison would feel better and more comfortable in the leading role. He was probably taught to be the one to lead so when the situation changed it made him confused. Or well more confused than he apparently already was about dancing.

A cough made him look at the man in front of him who still bore an unimpressed expression but had his arm extended towards him. Tom stared at it with what the other clearly perceived as confusion and dissatisfaction.

“Believe me I am just as excited to be here as you are but we might as well make something out of this situation.” he said and walked a bit closer to Tom, taking Tom’s hand into his own and shaking it , forming a handshake all on his own.

Tom looked at their joined hands for a bit before pulling away. He hadn’t given his permission for such a display to take place but at least he got the unnecessary pleasantries out of the way. Well most of them. He wasn’t sure if he should ask for his new partners name or offer his own as he honestly didn’t care for it but the man did ask him nonetheless.

“Lord Marvolo Voldemort, I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you but-“his eyes wondered towards Harrison.

“I am afraid the circumstances of our meeting don’t allow me to feel any type of pleasure.” he said and gave the man a cold smile. The other seemed unfazed by it, out of arrogance or stupidity Tom wasn’t sure and started his own introduction.

“Cormac Mclaggen, I am from the Gryffindor District. Though I am sure you could tell. Most people know right away, you see my family is very closely related to Gryffindor’s blood line.” he said in an amused voice and paused to spare a look at Tom’s face , obviously expecting to find surprise and awe at his introduction.

When he realized that neither of those would show up in Tom’s face anytime soon he coughed awkwardly and tried to continue as if nothing had happened, but Tom could see how his indifference to the Mclaggen family name had shaken the man.

 _What a self-centered buffoon_ thought Tom as Cormac kept going on and on about his apparently respectable family. The Mclaggens weren’t even in the sacred 28. As far as Tom knew they were nothing but new money and definetely not related to someone as grand as one of the Founders.

His eyes drifted once more away from the blabbering man and focused on Harrison and Miss Granger who seemed to be in the middle of an engaging conversation as they waited for the orchestra to start playing again. Tom hated to admit how good they looked together.

Harrison let out a loud laugh that made him throw his head back and Tom felt his heart tighten at the sight. Tom panicked. How could such a tiny gesture even get a reaction out of him? Was he becoming weak? Too attached? Like that fool Dumbledore said, was he- no. He wouldn’t allow himself to be like this. He promised so to himself and his followers.

No matter how intriguing he found Harrison at the end of the day he was just another way to pass his time. He just wanted him to win the hunt so he could feel the thrill of someone finding out who he really was but also to unravel the mystery that Harrison Peters was. 

Once he learned all about him and made him his he would dispose of him just like with all the others before him. He might feel a strong desire for him now but Tom knew it would pass. Harrison would become boring just like everybody else.

He took his eyes away from the laughing Harrison and smiled at Cormac as the first notes of the upcoming dance could be heard.

“Shall we dance then?”

***

“…and that’s how I ended up dancing with him.”

“Miss Granger this is awful!”

Hermione raised her eyes at him, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“You are sweet, but do call me Hermione. I feel like unnecessary pleasantries only manage to distant people instead of showing how much you respect the other individual.”

Harry nodded with a pleasant smile not knowing how to reply to that. At the end of the day good manners was all he really had. If someone stripped that away from him all they would get is a poor dirty servant boy, much lesser than the average citizen.

“It is truly awful though. I wasn’t aware someone could act so rudely, Mclaggen crossed the line.” he stated, making their conversation subject the young man that had apparently leeched himself at Hermione’s side.

She shook her head in agreement, her face still showing signs of the distress she went through while in his unwanted company throughout the night.

From what Harry had understood the Weasley family hadn’t been able to attend the ball because of some personal reasons that Hermione seemed fine to share with him but he declined. He could hear it from Ron himself if he felt like sharing.

The absence of the Weasleys had left Hermione alone at the ball, which normally wouldn’t bother her since she was there to accomplish her own goals but the addition of Cormac was enough to ruin her night. Harry wasn’t sure why someone would force themselves so much on a person that was already engaged to somebody else.

“I was lucky I managed to escape him. Thankfully both you and Lord Voldemort” at that Hermione glanced at Marvolo’s direction “are pretty easy to spot in a crowd. Thanks for saving me from him.” she finished with a wide, thankful smile on her face.

“We didn’t really do anything, but I am glad you managed to get away.”  Harry said and winced as he felt Hermione’s foot underneath his own. She didn’t react but raised an eyebrow at the mishap. He had stepped on her four times already. 

“I apologize…I am not a very good dancer.” Harry looked down at his feet in embarrassment. It was easier to admit to Hermione about his inability to dance but Harry was still anxious it would only lower him in her eyes as dancing was the trademark of every gentleman.

He decided to tell her anyways. He was sure she had noticed how dreadful he was on her own. No harm could be done.

“You see I just recently started dancing…my family…” he paused “they didn’t exactly teach me properly. I am fairly new to this and it is really uncomfortable.” he said and reluctantly raised his head to see Hermione’s face.

Surprised he found her looking at him with a concerned expression stuck on her face. Harry wasn’t sure if it was better or worse for her to be concerned for him or just pity him. Both made him want to apologize and run away from her company as soon as possible.

“Oh Harry.” she had stopped dancing.

Harry stopped too, dropping his hands to his sides. There was no point to pretend he knew what he was doing. He felt squeamish under Hermione’s silent stare and started rubbing his arm in his awkwardness. The couples around threw them weird glances but kept dancing ignoring the two stationary people as best as they could. 

“Harry I am so sorry. I didn’t know…and I made you dance even though you felt uncomfortable, ah I should have noticed earlier.” she said and shook her head regretfully, her face slightly red from the dancing.

“No, no Hermione is fine it’s my fault I-“ Harry shouldn’t have used that word to described how he felt but it was the closest he could find to describe the feeling of being watched while doing something you are obviously bad at.

“It is not your fault Harry. If anything, and please allow me to, blame your family for taking so long to tutor you! How neglectful of them!.” she said and huffed.

Harry at that moment thought how she would react if she knew how neglectful his actual family was. He could tell Hermione would lose her mind over his familiar relationships and she would most definetely give a piece of her mind to both his aunt and uncle. She really was a nice person.

“I mean when you put it like that...but really it’s better now. I have been taking lessons.” he said with a smile. Well it wasn’t a lie. Cho had said that if he wanted another dance session all he had to do was ask.

She looked at him for a moment, frowning as if she was making calculations in her head before her face light up and a smile appeared on her lips. 

“Lessons of course! I shall help you too then! The more help you get the sooner you’ll learn.”  she clapped her hands together as if it had been a statement that had already been decided. Harry tried to talk her out of it but she was already dragging them away from the dance floor mumbling about the dance lessons to herself.

“-of course Ron is a far better dancer than me but I am sure he’ll be very happy to help if you come tomorrow. I think practicing in a room near the dance hall will be ideal so we can still hear the music but not have all this crowd and we’ll have to do so before the treasure hunt begins each night or we’ll always get interrupted and-“

“Shouldn’t we tell Marvolo we are leaving?” Harry said to her for the third time this time a bit louder.

Hermione continued walking but he was sure this time she had heard him.

“Why should we? Lord Voldemort doesn’t seem to enjoy our, well my presence. I doubt he would want to help with your dance lessons Harry he is too prideful to help us commoners.”

He winced. She wasn’t wrong. After this farce of a dancing he doubted Marvolo would want to see him again. He was probably regretting asking him to dance. Harry knew he regretted agreeing to it. He was just warming up to the idea of having a person like Marvolo around but he didn’t know if he could handle the embarrassment that came with it.

“You are right he probably wouldn’t want to help…he did sound upset when I said I was new to dancing. I mean he asked me to dance yesterday so he probably had some expectations.” he admitted.

“Wait. He asked you to dance? Like formally?”  Hermione turned to look at him as if he just said that Nargles did in fact exist and everyone else was crazy for not seeing them.

“Well yes… you saw us dancing, didn’t you?” he asked confused.

“ I thought you were just…I thought he just grabbed you cause you were the only one he knew. To avoid unwanted attention from silly girls that would want to dance with him.” she said, a frown on her face.

Harry knew he should probably feel offended that Hermione would think that he would allow himself to be used like that by Marvolo but he soon realized that that was the type of person she was. Blunt and bold.

“Well no. He asked me properly yesterday but I had to go.” Harry said trying not to sound as bashful as he felt. Hermione hummed in reply.

She stopped walking and stared at the sea of people that were on the dance floor. Her eyes scanned the crowd before stopping on Marvolo.

“Go get him.” she finally said and Harry couldn’t help the doubtful expression on his face. She shrugged.

“The lessons will be better with more than one person and you’ll need to know how to lead but also how to be leaded and I can’t help you with that.” she looked at the crowd again.

“I don’t think he would normally help but I feel like you are a special case for the Lord.” Hermione said and flashed him a grin. “Just make sure Cormac doesn’t see you, I’ll be waiting here.”

Harry started walking towards Marvolo’s direction, moving through other dancing couples that gave him the stink eye as he went. He still wasn’t as sure as Hermione was that he would help them but he wanted to ask either way. She said that he was special to him but Harry couldn’t see it. Marvolo was just as much of an asshole with him as he was with everyone else.

He stopped to look around and his eyes almost immediately fell on Marvolo’s silver figure. The first thing Harry noticed was that he was dancing with an unknown woman with dark hair and a blood red dress. Guess Cormac didn’t last long under the French Lord’s pressure. 

The woman seemed like she was having the best time of her life and Marvolo looked at her with a fondness that he hadn’t shown before. It was hard to tell because of their masks but Harry could tell Marvolo was happily talking with her. For some reason that he wouldn’t like to think about Harry felt sick at the sight.

He should just walk back to Hermione and tell her that he declined. That he was too preoccupied right now. But he didn’t. He just continued staring at them interacting happily. He was so focused he didn’t even notice Marvolo’s head moving until their eyes locked.

Harry felt his breathing become uneasy. Marvolo was still staring at him.

Not knowing what else to do, he raised his hand in a shaking manner and pointed to where Hermione was still standing, his eyes never leaving Marvolo’s as he mouthed the question.

“Dancing lessons, join us?”

Marvolo kept staring and Harry wasn’t sure if he had even understood what he had said to him. That was stupid. Why did he even mouth the words to him? He should have just gone up to him like a normal person!

Feeling defeated Harry was about to turn around and run off when he saw Marvolo quickly walking towards him, the lady behind him looking infuriated for being left like that. Before he knew it Marvolo had grabbed his arm and was dragging him along to where Hermione was.

He leaned close to Harry’s ear, the grip around his arm becoming tighter.

“Thank you for getting me away from her Mr. Horrible dancer.” he whispered and flashed him a handsome smile before straightening again.

Harry could feel his heart flatter.

***

“I don’t understand why we can’t just go again!”

Remus felt like bashing his already scarred head against a hard wall. Sirius could get so stubborn sometimes it could drive anyone insane.

“I already explained it to you. Albus only gave us yesterday to search, he can’t always lower the wards for us to pass through the King will get suspicious of him.” he said in a tired voice and lowered himself on the old sofa in their living room.

Sirius looked like he wasn’t done debating yet but Remus didn’t want to hear about it anymore. They had been fighting all day since last night’s “incident” as he liked to call it.

“Remus this isn’t about Albus! I don’t give a rat’s ass if he loses the King’s precious trust!” he yelled and quickly gathered himself again. Remus knew Sirius would say things he didn’t mean when he was upset. They both knew that having Albus on their side and him being so close with the King was a blessing.

“I…I am sorry. I shouldn’t yell but I am telling you I saw him. It was him Remus, it was Harry I am sure of it.”  He said and got up from the chair he was sitting on to instead kneel in front of Remus, taking lovingly his hand into his.

“You have to believe me.” he said with pleading eyes and Remus couldn’t help but feel chocked up.

He wanted to believe his friend, he wanted to believe that that was indeed their Harry, their godson, their lost best friend’s son but he couldn’t. Remus knew how desperate Sirius was to find Harry, he also was just as desperate but all these years searching had led to a lot of mistakes and no results. Finding Harry now would be too good to be true.

“Sirius...please, don’t do this to yourself. You saw him only for a second, you said he was wearing a mask. It could be anyone, not every kid we meet is Harry.” he tried saying it as soft as he could but he was tired. Sirius wouldn’t listen.

The dark haired man threw his hands away as if he got burned and stood up. Remus could feel his magic burning under his skin. He was mad but he there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

“ I KNOW IT WAS HIM! YOU THINK I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO RECOGNISE JAMES IN HIM?” he yelled and the sound of breaking glass accompanied his screams. Remus flicked his hand towards the broken window, repairing it unfazed.

“HE LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE HIM REMUS!” another crack.

“Sirius you already broke all of our living room windows I suggest you get out of the room and try breaking all the house’s glass items.” Remus said and sighed deeply when Sirius looked ready to follow his sarcastic suggestion.

“I know you think it’s him. I also want it to be him. But don’t you think Albus would have told us Harry would be there? Why search for the papers about him when he is already in there?”

At that Sirius stilled his anger and Remus felt his magic in the room getting less and less aggressive.

“I don’t know. Albus has a weird way of doing things you said so yourself. Maybe he is just playing with us, maybe he can’t tell us, maybe he is just trying to give us some hope or maybe he is just a bastard that works for the King.” he said and turned to look at Remus who was horrified to find that tears where running down his lover’s face.

He jumped from the sofa and run towards Sirius, wrapping his arms protectively around him. He was always the taller one so he had Sirius’s face resting on his shoulder while he quietly sobbed. Remus felt like doing the same. 

“I don’t like watching you like this.” he murmured into Sirius’s ear.

“I know, I am sorry for yelling. Remus, I want Harry to be okay. To be alive.” Sirius said just as quietly and returned the embrace.

“He is alive. We should trust Albus on this one. Maybe he is not being completely honest with us but we have to trust him. He is our only hope.”

They spent a few seconds in silence, into each other’s arms feeling each other’s magic and heartbeats.

“We will try again. But not today.” Remus whispered and placed a soft kiss on top of Sirius’s hair.

“Okay.” The other one replied and Remus smiled sadly.

He was sure they would fight about this again tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines day!! to anyone who has a valentine and to all the others who will go and get chocolates on sale the next day. It's been quite some time since I updated this story and I am really sorry but real life had me running around so I had no room for writing in my life...  
> Harry being a dreadful dancer is thankfully canon so this chapter kind of wrote istelf. Sorry Harry for making you suck this badly. also I chose Cormac to be the asshole of the chapter cause his character always made me mad and creeped out.  
> Hope you liked this update! Your comments, critisism and reviews are always welcome and appreciated!! thamk you for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this story ! It's a silly idea that came to me while rewatching Cinderella for the 100th time and decided to act on it. Idk how long it will be but I'll try my best to upload as soon as I can if I see people are interested in it!  
> I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this work.Not JK Rowling, not making any money. No Copyright infringement is intended.


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